Nairobi City Stars game analyst and team psychologist Obed Nyamweya notes that player growth is what has contributed positively to the teams’ improved performance this season.
According to Nyamweya, the youthful lot at City Stars are very adaptive and, with a newfound familiarity amongst themselves, things have turned out for the better in the team.
In the first leg of last season, Simba wa Nairobi was a firm relegation candidate, and deep in the lower echelons of the 18-team log. Only an improved second-leg show got the team out of the red zone.
“Fighting relegation in the premier league is not easy for various reasons; teams perceive you as underdogs and they come for all points,”
“There is an aspect of an inferiority complex when you keep losing matches and for young players it’s hard to boost their morale, and lastly, there is an aspect of bad luck. Things don’t work out completely and you are left asking what are we not doing right,” added Nyamweya
“Last season we had a mixture of experienced and inexperienced players and we had to find balance within the team. Somehow, the results did not come as we had expected. We are glad we turned the corner and survived relegation and now we are onto a much better season.”
According to Nyamweya, the team is now a fully functional and confident lot;
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“From the look of things, as per the Premier League table, it’s evident City Stars is a different team from last season having grown in terms of confidence & performance,”
“Last season, entry of players to the premier league was an induction process. This year they have grown and have belief in themselves and have been pushing and are loving the fact they are playing,”
“Most of the young players have the fire burning in their belies. They have found their feet and their confidence is growing. They are getting more minutes under their belts and have the urge to prove themselves and make headlines,”
“City Stars is now a fully gelled team and the results are coming through.”
Nyamweya joined Simba wa Nairobi at the onset of last year when the team was groping with losses. Separately, Nyamweya is the head coach of FIFA Best, a community side.