Paul Put: I leave Kenya with a broken heart

Harambee Stars coach Paul Put gives instructions to players during a training session on November 30, 2017 at Utalii grounds, Nairobi.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) on February 19 announced the Belgian had resigned citing “personal reasons”.

Belgian Paul Put has said his resignation from his position as the Harambee Stars coach left him with a "broken heart."

The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) on February 19 announced the Belgian had resigned citing “personal reasons”.

Put, in an exclusive interview with Nation Sport on Friday, said he had to resign "to protect his impressive reputation on the continent."

The Belgian claims that FKF failed to heed to his request for a new support staff and an analytical system.

“I leave Kenya with a broken heart. I resigned to put pressure on the federation so as to respond to my requests but instead, they reacted in a different way and went to the press announcing my resignation before even responding to my letter which, to be honest, was confidential that I expected they will come back for discussions,” Put said.

“This is the first time in my coaching career I am resigning after only three months and I did this painfully. I was motivated to come and help develop Kenyan football. We reached an agreement on how I was going to work and I used Cecafa to observe my technical bench and thereafter made proposals on improvements,” he added.

“I requested for five more people to work with like I have been doing in other countries because we needed a more professional approach... because if you want to qualify for Afcon you need be realistic in your job."

"I think it wasn’t the right time for Kenya to hire a professional coach because the federation seems to be struggling a lot and I say this in a positive way. They have a young president, very ambitious and a hard worker but things are not going his way. SportPesa withdrew meaning it was going to be difficult financially but this is where government steps in."

“I want to apologise to the Kenyan public that I was looking forward to work with. Unfortunately, its football and life has to move on,” added Put, who led Burkina Faso to the Cup of Nations final in 2013.