Harambee Stars door has been left ajar for the possible return of ostracised duo of Paul Were and Kevin Omondi.

Coach James Nandwa gave a strong indication that the two players who were banished from the teams camp in Kampala, Uganda for gross misconduct might return to the Kenyan squad if Stars reach the last four of the ongoing Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup by beating Malawi tomorrow.

"The two players were very important to the team and have already shown remorse. If we reach the semi-finals, I would like them to be back. We have very tough matches ahead of us with a very thin squad and they will be obviously be crucial to our goals" said Nandwa in a complete turn around to his earlier stance on the AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia wingers.

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) NEC member Doris Petra also agreed that they were consulting far and wide to see if the two players will be recalled into the Stars camp.

"We are going to have a meeting today and see if it will be prudent for the two to return to camp and if it is going to be possible, then they will be available for the next matches," said Petra.

Stars booked their place in the knockout rounds after a comfortable 3-1 win over Ethiopia in match that was marred by many missed chances, a situation that has dogged Stars in all three of their group stage matches.

"I was pleased with the way the players were dedicated. We had a defender score as well as our strikers. We are missing chances, which I think is an area that we will need to work on as we have a very tough task ahead of us now," said Nandwa.

David Ochieng Cheche, the composed Tusker defender turned midfield enforcer, continued his remarkable run of form since his debut for the Stars against Uganda on the opening day of the regional championships by heading in his second goal of the campaign.

Ochieng, Thika United's winger Clifton Miheso and Gor forward Rama Salim were all on the score-sheet in Kenya's victory over Ethiopia.

Should stars go past Malawi, then they will meet either hosts Uganda or Ethiopia two teams who they were with in the same group of the round robin stages.