Immediate former Tusker FC head coach Robert Matano says he left his post at the Brewery to seek a new challenge as he had achieved enough with the twelve-time Premier League champions.Matano left the Ruaraka-based team three weeks ago, linking up with Sofapaka, which ended a six-year stay with the club where he won two titles, including the Premier League in 2020–2021, excluding the annulled 2021-2022 league title and a Kenyan Super Cup in 2021–2022.In an exclusive interview with a local media outlet, ‘The Lion’, as he is fondly known, said he quit his position because he felt he had done a lot for the club and hence needed a new challenge.“I left because my contract expired. Again, despite that, I felt I had done a lot for Tusker and it was time to exit and seek another challenge. I have no regrets because I have given my best and what was within my capacity,” said Matano.“I thank the management for allowing me to work with them for the second time. During this time, I have won the league with them three times: the Kenyan Super Cup and the Top 8 Cup. Generally, I am a very proud man. I made Tusker a title contender every season,” he added.John Kamau appointed Mathare United new head coachMatano describes the previous three seasons as the hardest but says he used his experience to circumvent the challenges to finish as runners-up to eventual winners Gor Mahia“We have had a lot of challenges for the last three seasons. The management has been investing in one area, which is paying players’ salaries but ignored other areas, which I am not ready to mention publicly but a lot was happening behind the scenes,” he told Citizen Digital. He added: “I believe had we been supported in all areas, we would have lifted the league last season and the just concluded one. I pray they work on these shortcomings for my successor to succeed for I am leaving behind a stable team.”Kenyan international among new faces at Simba QueensMatano shifts focus on Sofapaka, where he intends to make them a title contestant and replicate the 2009 form when he won the league with Batoto ba Mungu at their first time of asking.Besides Tusker, in his managerial career, he has had stints with World Hope [now renamed Nairobi City Stars], AFC Leopards, Sofapaka and Ulinzi Stars.Lifting three league titles while winning individual accolades such as Coach of the Year in 2009 and 2020-21 is no mean task and “The Lion” walks away from Ruaraka, a proud tactician.##NAJAVA_MECA_8242035##
