Nairobi — Sammy Okoth says that Shabana 'deserve better' as he tendered his resignation as the club's head coach immediately after they were handed a 4-0 spanking by military side Ulinzi Stars at the Ulinzi Sports Complex on Sunday.
The defeat was Shabana's third of the FKF Premier League season in eight matches and they sunk into the red zone in the standings.
Okoth was already under pressure with the side struggling to perform in their Premier League return for the first time in 17 years.
Their only victory in eight matches was a surprise 1-0 win over 12-time champions Tusker FC. It was the defeat at the Military base that struck the final bullet on the tactician's chest.
"Everything didn't go right and it is very unfortunate it happened this way. I am not okay with whatever happened and I feel I should let go at the moment and I should just relax and let someone else come and do the job," the coach said after the game.
He added; "This (4-0) is a defeat that I have never picked since I started my career as a coach. I feel that it is the right thing to do at the moment. This is a team with a lot of fans and they deserve much better than what happened today."
Fans had made their frustrations known both during the match and at the full-time whistle, as they expressed their displeasure with how the team was playing as well as the results they were picking.
But, Okoth says he leaves the team as a proud man, saying he is pleased with the achievements he has made.
"I am proud of whatever I have done since I got into this team. They also know what I have done, assembling a team and getting them promoted. I leave feeling proud. They gave me an opportunity and I have done what I felt was right with the team," the tactician said.
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Okoth has also urged the faithful Shabana fans, who have been thronging all their matches home and away, not to get discouraged by the results. He says they should keep supporting the team and he believes they will soon find their footing.
Against Ulinzi, Shabana were undone by military precision.
Paul Muchika gave the soldiers the lead on the half hour mark, before Mark Bikokwa doubled the tally five minutes to the break. A brilliant training ground routine freekick saw Shannel Makwatta lay a cross from the left and Bikokwa tapped it home from inside the box.
In the second half, they continued with their impressive outing when Enosh Ochieng scored the first of his two, stealing a yard of space infront of his marker to head home from a Boniface Muchiri cross.
Enosh completed his double in the 64th minute when he picked a rebound inside the box and thumped it into the roof of the net after the Shabana keeper punched a Makwatta cross right into his path.
Shabana have a rough patch ahead of them as they face off with record Kenyan champions Gor Mahia at the Kasarani Stadium on Wednesday.
