The British tactician maintains he did not quit the K’Ogalo job and admitted he was upset with people spreading such rumours
Steven Polack has come out to clarify he did not resign as head coach of Gor Mahia as it is being portrayed by many in Kenyan football circles.
The British tactician has instead, confirmed to Goal he parted ways with the FKF Premier League champions on mutual agreement and explained he was very disappointed people think he resigned from his position as the head coach.
The 60-year-old tactician left K’Ogalo after only one season on October 9, 2020, after he requested 11 days to visit his family in Finland, but while away, the club confirmed he was not going to return to see through his contract.
“I have read some of the feedback after my story [of taking Gor Mahia to Fifa over my accrued salary] came out and I am a little bit disappointed that people think I resigned my position as head coach, that is so far from the truth,” Polack told Goal on Tuesday.
“It was a mutual agreement between the club and myself, I had written a letter to be given to all media houses which was never put forward to them. Why it wasn’t given out to the media, I don’t know and the letter that was sent to the media at the time had nothing to do with me whatsoever.”
In the letter, Polack says he wrote to Gor Mahia dated October 8, 2020, it states: “The club and I have come to a mutual agreement to terminate my contract due to the economic downturn and coronavirus pandemic which is not only affecting Gor Mahia but also other clubs and businesses around the world.
“I would like to say thank you to the club for giving me the opportunity to coach Gor Mahia. I enjoyed working with all the staff, and of course the players, I thank them for their hard work, dedication, and commitment, so continue that same attitude going forward.
“It’s been an honour working with you all and of course the supporters, which of course you don’t have a club without them, they really made me very welcome and they were unbelievably the best in Kenya, and I really appreciated their support.”
The letter continued: “I would also like to give a very big thank you to the Kenyan people for making me feel at ease and at home. Kenya is a beautiful country which I enjoyed very much and one day I will come back to visit.
“I wish you all the best for the future and I look forward to our paths crossing again in the future.”
Last week, Polack confirmed in an exclusive interview with Goal he had petitioned the world governing body Fifa to compel Gor Mahia to pay him his accrued salary.
“The club and I came to a mutual agreement to cancel the contract, personally it came as a surprise to me, as I had a year left on my contract which I was very happy to honour,” Polack told Goal.
“We had agreed on compensation, but the agreement was broken when they did not pay what was due to me on the dates we agreed on. So I put the case to Fifa who made a decision and gave notice to Gor Mahia to pay what is due to me in full.
“The timescale Fifa gave was 30 days, that time has elapsed as of today [Friday] and I have not received it, so it’s now in Fifa’s hands and let’s see what the outcome will be.”
Polack’s move came a few months after Gor Mahia were handed a 10-day notice to pay Ghanaian midfielder Jackson Owusu all his outstanding dues plus a five percent interest accumulated from the relevant due dates.
While Polack did not reveal the amount he is owed by Gor Mahia, Owusu is owed Ksh2.4million and a sign-on fee of USD10,000.
In February, Gor Mahia were punished by Fifa after they were banned from signing new players for a failure to pay Tanzanian player Dickson Ambundo.
Ambundo was demanding Ksh1.2million from the club and Fifa warned the local giants that failure to settle the fines within 45 days upon the delivery of that judgement, they will be barred from engaging in the transfer window.
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