In a bid to save their faltering league title campaign, crisis-hit KCCA FC appointed former skipper Jackson Mayanja as interim coach on April 19, just three days after Morley Byekwaso resigned from the post.
Byekwaso quit on April 16 following a 1-0 defeat to Bright Stars in Uganda Cup quarterfinals. However, Byekwaso’s exit did not surprise local football pundits since the club was not winning games and kept losing ground in the StarTimes Uganda Premier League title race.
Mayanja’s appointment was confirmed hours after KCCA suffered a 2-0 to URA FC on April 19.
In the same statement issued on its website, KCCA also confirmed that Badru Kaddu, a former assistant to Byekwaso who took charge of the game against URA, was terminated immediately after the appointment of Mayanja.
Mayanja will be in charge until June, 2023 when this season ends.
His immediate task is to revive KCCA’s league title hopes, which have been dwindling since April 1 when SC Villa toppled them from the top of the 15-team table.
With eight games to the end of the season, KCCA are currently in second position with 38 points compared to Villa’s 43 points. However, KCCA have two games in hand.
“We can still win the league title in these eight games. My immediate task now is to tune the players mentally and physically so we win all our games,” Mayanja stated his first media briefing on Saturday, April 22.
“If we cannot do that [win the title]…I am not God so life goes on and fans should understand that I tried my best. I accepted to come in as interim coach because KCCA is my family and the only club I played for here in Uganda,” he added.
Interestingly, Mayanja’s first game will be against Villa on Sunday, April 23 at the Phillip Omondi stadium, Lugogo.
Third-placed Vipers, the other team in the title race, are just three points behind KCCA and pose the main threat to Mayanja’s ambitions.
As a player, Mayanja, nicknamed ‘Mia Mia’, was one of KCC’s most talented stars to feature for the club in the late 1980s and 90s. He captained the club to the league title in 1997.
His most recent coaching job was with the national U-20s, the Hippos, at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
FIXTURES:
Sunday, April 23, 2023
Wakiso Giants v Onduparaka FC, Kabaka Kyabaggu stadium-Wakiso(2pm)
KCCA FC v SC Villa, MTN Omondi Stadium-Lugogo(4pm)