Lagos — There was uncertainty in the Harambee Stars camp yesterday when head coach Antoine Hey refused to take the players through their paces in the morning as a protest against the inclusion of Edgar Ochieng and Jamal Mohammed against his wishes.

"Eject these two players, failure to which, I'm not going to train the players," the Kenyan Daily Nation quoted Hey as telling the team manager and other members of the technical bench.

But when this order was not followed, the coach was absent from the training ground at Kasarani Stadium forcing his assistant Twahir Muhidin to take charge of the afternoon session.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the players said he was sorry at how the coach was treating the national team, saying the duo - Ochieng and Jamal - were important to the team, if they were to qualify for next year's African Cup of Nations.

"This is unfair. This coach doesn't seem to have any attachment with the team; otherwise, he wouldn't have rejected the two players. This is an important match which we must win," the player noted.

All of the 21 players named had reported to camp on Monday, except Musa Otieno and Dennis Oliech who were expected later in the evening.