Macharia lauds Pamzo impact

Gor Mahia winger John Macharia has effusively heaped praise on assistant coach Sammy ‘Pamzo’ Omollo for the job he has done in helping Portuguese head coach Manuel Vaz Pinto settle in since the two were appointed at the record Kenyan champions back in January and February.

Back in January, when the then Brazilian head coach Roberto Oliveira was deemed unfit to handle Gor in the continental competitions and later in the Football Kenya Federation Premier League, Pamzo was normally called upon to handle the green army while he was still the head coach of Posta Rangers as well.

But after being sacked by the mailmen, Gor, as if in a show of gratitude, handed Pamzo the assistant head coach duties after then-assistant Patrick Odhiambo decamped to Kakamega Homeboyz.

With Pinto needing time to settle in at the club being a foreigner, the former Georgian player has commended the job that the former Gor player turned coach has done at the club.

“Pamzo has been a very big differential since he came because he knows many players at the club. Pinto came midway through the season and found the club in progress, so taking on the team like that is not easy especially since the season had already started. But Pamzo had been here, he knows the players, he knows the players’ strong points and he knows how to use them, so he advises the coach accordingly on what to do,” he told Mozzart Sport.\

In the last five league fixtures, Gor, who have won 15/15 points to jump up to fourth on the log, have only conceded two goals in those games played. The former Talanta player also explained the reason to why the club has enjoyed such pretty solid form.

“Before the league started we had not gelled very well as a unit. Also, since Harun Shakava and other defenders chipped into the team, we have been conceding less and less. Initially, we used to score goals but our problem was in the defensive line where we also used to concede and give a lot of easy goals. But we solved that problem and that is why right now, we have the consistency that we have,” the player added.

Currently, after stuttering in the first leg, a resurgent Gor sits fourth on the log on 31 points, only seven behind log leading Tusker who have played one extra game over them.