Gor Mahia head coach Leonardo Neiva has shown once again that he will not compromise on professionalism and discipline after dropping four players from the matchday squad that faced Nairobi City Stars on Monday evening at the Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos.
This is after the Brazilian tactician found out that Ghanaian signing Enock Morrison, Paul Ochuoga, Musa Masika and Chris Ochieng had taken part in an amateur game leading up to their match against City Stars.
Gor eventually ended up losing 2-1 against City Stars, much to the discontentment of their fans who were let down by how their unbeaten run was ended.
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SportPesa Blog can confirm that Neiva, who replaced Johnathan McKinstry in July, made the decision to pass a warning to the players for their unprofessional behavior.
In fact, after the shocking loss to City Stars, fans expressed their concerns over players taking part in the unsanctioned encounters leading to them giving sub-par performances as they do not get enough time to rest and recover for their league encounters.
“These players are tired because they are playing other games outside of league matches. Morrison, Ronney, Masika, Omija, Sylvester are playing games outside and when they return to the team they are tired,” one of the fans said.
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Neiva confirmed to SportPesa Blog that he had indeed talked to the players severally about professionalism but to no avail, forcing him to stamp his authority.
This is not the first time the former Vipers and Yanga coach is trying to instill discipline at K’Ogalo.
At the start of the season, he made sure Ronney Onyango did not play the first two games of the season over an indiscipline case.
Ronney even failed to train with the team after the Harambee Stars attacker refused to talk to the coach over selection issues while the team played Al Ahly in the second leg of their 24/25 CAF Champions League Second Preliminary Round tie in Cairo, Egypt.
The saga ended with Ronney getting served a two-week suspension before being reintegrated back to the team.
ALSO READ: Nairobi City Stars end Gor Mahia’s unbeaten run after epic comeback in Machakos