Naggi, who selected the provisional Stars team that is currently in camp at the Moi International Sports Centre, said Hey was studying several résumés and also familiarising himself with local conditions before making a choice.

“The coach wants to pick a young guy who has played internationally and can connect well with the players. The choice will be entirely up to him,” Naggi said.

Hey was appointed coach of Harambee Stars last month on a two-year contract.

His immediate task is to guide Kenya through the final group phase of the 2010 World Cup/Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Kenya are in Group Two together with Tunisia, Nigeria and Mozambique. They play their first match on March 28 against Tunisia in Nairobi.

The German began his duties on Monday and is assisted by compatriot Kamal Halat.

Naggi has, meanwhile, defended his decision of selecting the provisionally side for the qualifiers after accusations that he was acting as the national coach.

“I do youth football development in the country and also advise national coaches.

“A new Harambee Stars coach has to rely on someone when selecting his provisional squad. In this case there was no other person he could rely on other than me,” Naggi said.

“I took a lot into consideration when picking this team. I picked all players to fit any system the coach wants. It is players who dictate style of play. Hey is very comfortably with the players at the moment,” Naggi said.

The squad is little changed from the one that did duty for Kenya in the last round of qualification matches.

The major surprise was the recall of former Harambee Stars captain Musa Otieno.

Favourable feedback

Hey explained at his first new conference in charge on Monday that he had made inquiries from his South African contacts on the 35-year-old defender and had received favourable feedback.

Musa, a long-time first choice central defender for the Stars, currently plays for Premier League Soccer side Cape Town Santos for whom he has scored five goals this season.

The German coach expressed satisfaction with the Kenyan front line but side the backline needed two or three players with the qualities of Otieno to compete against big sides like Tunisia and Nigeria.

The surprise exclusion is that of experienced Mathare United goalkeeper Duncan Ochieng who was the man between the posts for Stars during the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup in Uganda.

“Ochieng has been carrying an injury for the last few weeks. How can I pick such a player? What happens if we aggravate his injury?” Naggi explained the player’s exclusion.

The team will break camp Thursday for club duty before reporting back to camp on Sunday.

By Charles Nyende

Source: Daily Nation