Gilbert Selebwa reveals changes made to transform relegation-threatened Vihiga United's form

Vihiga United interim coach Gilbert Selebwa has revealed the key changes he introduced within his first seven days at the club that have suddenly reignited belief in their National Super League (NSL) survival fight.

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Selebwa, who parted ways with Mombasa United last month, took charge of Vihiga on an interim basis at the start of May with the former FKF Premier League side rooted at the bottom of the table and staring at possible relegation to Division One.

His first game in charge came against former top-tier side Nairobi City Stars on Sunday, 10 May at Gems Cambridge, where Vihiga stunned the hosts with a hard-fought 1-0 victory away from home.

Up next for the former AFC Leopards head coach was another difficult assignment against one of the league’s most organised sides, Soy United, at Jomo Kenyatta Stadium on Sunday, 17 May, where once again, he delivered.

A first-half strike handed them another crucial 1-0 victory, their second consecutive win under Selebwa, results that have suddenly breathed life into the dressing room and lifted the club to 19th place on 26 points in an increasingly tense relegation battle.

The veteran tactician insists the sudden upturn is no coincidence, revealing that his first assignment at the club was rebuilding the shattered mentality of players who had already accepted relegation.

“I think it was all down to character. For a team to be at the bottom of the table, there are a lot of things that take place and happen, especially in the minds of the players,” Selebwa explained.

The former Congo Boys coach admitted that some players had mentally switched off before his arrival, convinced the club’s fate had already been sealed.

“Then we had those who had already given up, feeling that whatever we do, we are already relegation candidates,” he revealed.

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“One thing I did when I came in was to assess the teams above us all the way from Darajani going upwards, and we realised the points difference is very minimal. Then we also realised that even teams above us are not gathering points consistently.”

The former top-flight side now finds themselves in one of the fiercest survival battles in the division, with only five matches left to play.

Mwatate United, MCF FC, Darajani Gogo, Luanda Villa and Kisumu All Stars are all locked in a brutal dogfight to avoid the drop.

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Selebwa says the biggest message he passed to his squad was to stop focusing on results elsewhere and instead concentrate on collecting points one match at a time.

“So we started our journey and said we have six games to go. It does not matter what results the teams above us get; we do not care about them,” he said.

“As long as we are able to pick positive results in every game, at the end of the campaign, it is going to count.

I think that has motivated the players, especially after going to City Stars and winning comfortably at their backyard and then beating a well-organised side like Soy at home.”

The tactician now believes their next fixture against Darajani Gogo could become a major turning point in their survival mission.

Gogo suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat in their last outing against Naivas FC, and Selebwa sees the clash as an opportunity for Vihiga to finally climb above one of their direct rivals for safety.

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“We are now going to play against a team that lost 3-0, Darajani Gogo. We play them away, and the points difference between them and us is only two points.

The motivation is that if we beat them, then we go above them, and I think that will be the ultimate goal we are fighting for. It will also give us momentum to finish the season very strongly,” he stated.

Interestingly, Selebwa is quietly building the profile of a coach capable of transforming struggling teams in record time. Before leaving Mombasa United with eight matches remaining, he had guided the coastal side into a promotion race and had them joint top alongside Migori Youth.

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Now at Vihiga, he inherited a side sitting rock bottom with only six matches left, but has already overseen back-to-back wins against City Stars away and Soy United at home.

The numbers paint the picture of a coach currently enjoying one of the best runs in the division, and across his last 12 matches as a coach, Selebwa has registered 10 wins and only two defeats.