Still in the process: Firat provides Harambee Stars update ahead of twin friendlies

Process

That was the key word that came out of Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat's mouth, as he faced the media on Monday 4 September, addressing a host of questions, key among them, the Kenyan squad's preparation for the upcoming set of friendlies against Qatar and South Sudan set for this month.

Having begun camp at the Kasarani Stadium on Sunday 3 September afternoon, Harambee Stars are set to depart to Qatar on Wednesday morning, where they play Qatar on 7 September in Doha, before returning home for a game against South Sudan, scheduled for Nyayo National Stadium.

Qatar name squad to play Harambee Stars in Doha

With questions lingering over his squad selection, long-term goals and what the set of warm-up games presented, Firat offered -in exchange- a draw back to the caliber of teams his team had faced, and his current view of the landscape.

"Preparation is a process," Firat said. "As I said before, we have to look at where we started and where we are now. So far, we've managed to secure big friendlies against Iran and Qatar- both World Cup teams. At the same time, we played against Mauritius and Pakistan, and all these are steps that we needed to take.

My goal for this team is to challenge the players in such high calibre games that in return give me the opportunity to test myself."

Testing himself, and the players, was a key statement, as he used that to answer a question on his squad selection saying: "National team set up is completely different with clubs. For the last few friendly fixtures, I have used different players in different formations just to see how they work together. After all, that's the meaning of friendlies."

He continued, "Stability won't come without taking a chance. Multiple games offer me a chance to see things that fans don't see normally. In the camp, you look at player mentality, systems and how various combinations work. Its all an oblique process."

Probed on how he gauged his team so far, Firat said: "I don't anticipate making much changes, but the beauty is with every game, comes a different story, and we have a squad that can adapt. But still, learning is a process, that we are all in the centre of."

As it stands, the players in camp - including Masud Juma and Michael Olunga who jetted into the country on Sunday - will have two more training sessions in Kenya, before testing themselves out in the two friendly games.