Why Salim Hamisi nearly quit football last month

Had it not been for a phone call from coach Salim Babu, former Western Stima central defender SalimHamisi acknowledges that he would have temporarily quit football last month.

Hamisi was among the handful of Posta Rangers players who were hit by the February purge which left him mulling to desert the game until the end of the season.

The burly defender commonly known as Calabar joined the mailmen before the season began from Stima on a two-year contract but made one appearance which turned a sour debut for him as they fell 3-0 to KCB.

Hamisi who accuses former Rangers head coach Sammy Omollo of deliberately starving him of playing time during his brief stay left in February determined to focus on his beverages and transport business at the expense of football.

The former Sony Sugar defender says the frustrations at Rangers were unjustified as he would train in line with the instructions but would seldom make it to the match day squad.

"There was a lot of favoritism at Rangers. The coach would publicly admit that a certain click of defenders were his favorites. I would ask myself why he signed me if my style of play did not synchronize with his plan. This curtailed my growth and I left the club with one ambition, to do business for the rest of the season," he revealed.

In a rebuttal, Omollo says the defender squandered his chance against KCB and was dropped to pave ways for other guardsmen who were head and shoulders above him.

"He played badly in his first game in a Rangers shirt and was swapped for other defenders who made the difference. He would have focused on improving rather than getting comfort in training," he defended himself.

With bitter taste in his mouth, Hamisi who was being courted by Kakamega Homeboyz after exiting Rangers returned to Kisumu to run his side hustle.

However a call from Babu saw him reconsider his decision and subsequently, took a four-month offer at Kisumu All Stars who are under the tutelage of the former.

"Babu calmed me down and persuaded me to change my mind. Had he not called me, I would have taken a break and returned next season. I had received offers from top flight clubs but i didn't want anything to do with football," he added