Former Harambee Stars captain Dennis Oliech has proposed Francis Kimanzi as the successor to Engin Firat, should the Football Kenya Federation show the Turkish gaffer the door.Football stakeholders have been urging FKF to sack Firat following the failed bid for a place in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals and his poor record.Stars have won three out of the 15 competitive matches played under Firat and the numbers could reach a new high today as the team is scheduled to play Namibia.##NAJAVA_MECA_8511211##Asked who is better placed to succeed Firat, Oliech settled on Kimanzi with Rising Stars head coach Salim Babu as his assistant.Oliech hailed Kimanzi as one of the most experienced tacticians in the country with a proven track record with the national team.Kimanzi has previously handled the national team in three spells, guiding the team to position 68 on the FIFA log in his first stint with the team in 2008.Why FKF is poised to sack coach Engin FiratHe also won a CECAFA Senior Challenge silver medal with the team in the same year, which he also won the Kenyan Premier League with Mathare United.He returned to the Stars bench in 2011/2012 but was sacked months later following the poor start in the hunt for a ticket in the 2013 AFCON and 2014 World Cup qualifiers.The tactician handled the team for a third time between 2020-2021 before being fired and his place taken up by Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee.Harambee Stars seek consolation win in final AFCON 2025 qualifier against NamibiaOliech feels that Kimanzi’s experience and Babu’s understanding of modern football will inspire Stars to sail past the group stages of the 2027 AFCON finals.”Kimanzi is best suited to succeed Firat. We have never had another coach take the team to the rank he did back in 2008. He has stood the test of time and does well in scouting. If he can work with Salim, I am sure the two will scout players and build a team that will take us to the knockout stages of the 2027 AFCON,” said Oliech in an interview with SportsBoom.Firat has been in charge of Stars since September 2021.
