Paul Ogai, the Western Stima head coach was today named the December Fidelity Insurance coach of the month in ceremony held today at Moi Stadium, Kisumu.
Ogai beat stiff completion from Mathare United’s Francis Kimanzi to take the accolades in a poll conducted by the Sport Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) panel.
On his top flight debut Ogai mesmerized the league with terrific results. “I’m so happy right now I don’t have words. In my life I’ve only been recognized once before during my high school days but that was internal. So this one means so much to me and hopefully it’s the start of many things to come,” he recounted
Ogai who is in his second stint at Stima guided the newly promoted side to earning three wins and a draw to finish the month on top of the log.
They began the campaign with a 1-0 win over Posta Rangers before beating former champions Tusker by a similar margin in Kisumu. A 2-1 home win against Kakamega Homeboyz at home ensured that they stayed top of the table and his combativeness was witnessed when he rallied his boys to picking a rare point against Bandari in Mbaraki.
With Mathare also doing well in the month, very little separated Kimanzi and the eventual winner Ogai. In the poll, the victor got 14 votes with Kimanzi scooping 7 of the total votes cast.
Paul Ogai has had a success story of his own, guiding Stima to finishing first in the 2018 National Super League table thereby earning direct promotion to the top flight. He previously coached the now defunct Palos FC, Agro Chemicals and Kisumu All Stars.
He becomes the first coach to win the accolade in the 2018/19 season.
“We hope to first avoid relegation like in 2017 then fight for a place in the top ten. Our squad is very balanced with young players and very experienced ones. I’m just looking forward to an exciting new chapter after the good start we’ve had,” he said