A season which looked to be slipping away following a poor start to the campaign which saw the law enforcers rooted at the bottom of the 18-team table, has been turned around following the arrival of the Burundian tactician.
Having won the domestic FKF Cup last season, Police got the opportunity to represent Kenya in the CAF Confederation Cup where they failed to go past the second preliminary round after losing 3-1 on aggregate to Egyptian giants Zamalek.
They shifted their focus to the league where their first match saw them draw 1-1 against Tusker, draw 0-0 against Ulinzi Stars, defeat Mathare United 2-0, draw 1-1 against Sofapaka, and lose 1-0 against Shabana.
Their sixth match against Kariobangi Sharks ended in a 0-0 draw, then drew 1-1 against table leaders KCB, before losing 1-0 against AFC Leopards. The defeat against Ingwe signaled the end of coaches Salim Babu and Anthony Kimani as they were fired with immediate effect.
Ndayiragije joined Police, who were languishing at the bottom of the table, with only one win to show for it from eight matches. His arrival was the turning point as Police went ahead to win their first five matches under his watch.
He started off with a resounding 3-1 win against Nairobi City Stars, 1-0 win against promoted Mara Sugar, 3-0 win against Bidco United, 1-0 win against Gor Mahia and 1-0 win against FC Talanta.
After the Talanta game, they drew 1-1 against Kakamega Homeboyz, beat Posta Rangers 3-2, beat Murang’a Seal 1-0, and defeated Bandari 3-0 before edging out Mara Sugar 1-0 in their last assignment.
The outcome, which has seen Police remain unbeaten in the last nine matches under the Burundian coach, has seen a team that was fighting against relegation, ascend to the top of the table with 36 points, the same number of points as second-placed Tusker, but they have a better goal difference.
'I didn’t come here to waste time'
“Why not? I am here to fight and win the league, I couldn’t be here if I didn't want to win the title. We want to fight and win every game lined up for us, and we are here to fight, for every point, nothing is impossible, we have shown we can win matches, so we must stay focused and keep winning our matches,” Ndayiragije told Flashscore when asked about the prospects of winning the title.
“I didn’t come here to lose, I didn’t come here to waste time, I signed a contract with Police and winning the league for the club is included in the contract. If we win the league, we know what the Police management will do for me, I don’t have to tell you, but we have it written in the contract.”
He added: “I don’t mind if they (management) decide to build a statue (in my honour) if we achieve (winning the league), it is upon the team to decide. But again, in football if you win the league it ends there, nothing happens, and you focus again for the new season, so winning the league is part of our work.”
Ndayiragije, who has coached Burundi national team the Swallows, and in Tanzania where he was in charge of Azam FC, further explained what has helped him to turn around the club’s fortunes.
“For us, every game in the league is very important, we have to focus on winning every game, even the next game is important, so we have fixed our focus to tackle each and every game with our mind set on winning it,” offered Ndayiragije.
He continued: “What impresses me most is the fact that my players are getting better and better each and every game, and the management has pushed us, they have done their part which is very good, we have a CEO, who is very active, this work is not a one man show, but teamwork.”
Asked to explain the reason behind the nine game unbeaten run, Ndayiragije said: “First of all it starts with the management, they have done a good job, the management trusted and gave me the job, and I talked to the players and told them what we want to achieve, it is good that everyone is playing is part in this success.
“We have our game plan, we know what we want to achieve, but my focus is not looking at what our opponents are doing, my focus is on my team, if we rectify a few mistakes here and there, we will continue to play and do well and see what happens at the end of the season.”
A marathon with no easy games
Meanwhile, Tusker interim coach Charles Okere has vowed to tackle each game as a final in their bid to wrestle the title from record champions Gor Mahia.
“This is a marathon and there is no easy game. Every game for us is like a final and we cannot be in our comfort zone. We are here to work and get the best results in every game,” Okere told the club’s official website.
On the team’s 1-0 win against Ulinzi Stars, Okere explained: “Kudos to the players because it was a really tough win. We played under very difficult conditions with extreme heat on the artificial turf. But, we had a plan, and we executed it to get the three points.
“In the dressing room, I just told them one word; ‘You know what to do’. We had worked through the week and had a plan and we executed it well in the second half. The first half was a bit scrappy and we seemed like we were getting out of our strategy but we came back stronger and scored from a set piece, something that we had worked on.”
