The 56-year-old reveals his decision to extend his stay at the Den and promises fans attractive football and titles in the new season
AFC Leopards coach Patrick Aussems has confirmed he will be in charge of the team for the new FKF Premier League season.
The 56-year-old Belgian tactician joined the Den in February on a short-term contract but on Tuesday, he confirmed on his social media pages he had extended his stay with the struggling side despite receiving offers from other clubs.
What did Aussems say?
“I decided to extend my collaboration with AFC Leopards despite other offers,” Aussems said.
Aussems, who did not reveal the duration of the new contract, further said the main reason he had decided to stay at the club is to help them to win titles in the coming season.
“My target is to win titles by producing modern and attractive football and also make the fans happy, let us all be focused on the success next season! Future is bright!”
Aussems has struggled to have a positive display with Ingwe but he managed to help them reach the final of the FKF Shield Cup where they lost 4-2 on penalties to rivals Gor Mahia in the final at Nyayo Stadium.
On the league front, AFC were doing well when he came in, but they started to register poor results which at one time saw the team go seven matches without a win.
In their last assignment, they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Nairobi City Stars and the result came after they had drawn 2-2 with Nzoia Sugar and lost two straight matches – 3-2 against bogey side Western Stima and 2-0 against league leaders Tusker.
In a recent interview, Aussems blamed the team’s poor show on the standard of pitches being used for matches in the league and he even threatened to walk away if the situation does not improve.
“We have lost the points and have accepted the outcome and we now shift our focus to Thursday, so we all need to have a good recovery because on Thursday we have to be back in action but I hope not on this pitch but maybe another one," Aussems told Goal.
“It is one of the worst pitches I have seen for some time in my entire life, the ball is not moving on the ground and it is also causing player injuries, and it is unfortunate to play in such a condition, I just want to hope and pray we will not be forced to return and play here again.”
Apart from coaching in Kenya, in 2018 Aussems became the head coach of Simba SC of Tanzania and guided them to the Tanzanian Premier League title in 2018-19 and reached the quarter-finals of the Caf Champions League, losing out to TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of the Congo 4-1 over two legs.