Shungu threatens to resign if his advice is not taken

Seasoned star striker Jimmy Gatete is set to lead an exodus of Rayon Sport’s playing staff come next football season Times Sport can exclusively reveal.

Gatete, 27, who is Rayon’s top earner at Frw400, 000 in monthly wages, is set to be followed to the exit door by several other senior players as the club bids to turn around its declining fortunes on the playing field.

Gatete joined Rayon for his second spell after getting a boot from APR last season.

Also in for the boot are the likes Labama Kamana Bokota, Taribo Emma, Cyril Pizzolera, Geremi Dusenge, Ndume Wa Ndume, Shaka Okello, Jimmy Kidega, Jean Lommani and Mike Yossam.

Gatete, once referred to as ‘god of goals’ by the local fans in his career is believed to be the most prolific striker to grace Rwandan football.

He scored crucial goals during the 2004 African Cup of Nations (CAN) qualifications which saw the Rwanda national football team (Amavubi) reach its first ever CAN finals.

The most celebrated goal in Rwandan history is presumably his goal against the Black Stars of Ghana at Amahoro stadium in March of 2003, which earned Rwanda a 1-0 win and a ticket to Tunis the following year.

According to an inside source, several current first team players are set to be axed in order to create room for young local players who are coming through the ranks.

The sacking of the players is also set to come into effect in anticipation of the proposed local football’s governing body on limitation of foreign players in the national league. 

Head coach Raoul Shungu told Times Sport yesterday that Rayon Sport will get back to its winning fashions without the current squad which is littered with unpredictable DR Congo born players, who he described unfocused.

"I will talk to the club administrators before the end of this week to find a way of reshuffling this team and bring in young local  players.

"I don’t want to work again with this continuous habit of Congolese players whose interests lie somewhere else instead of settling at Rayon Sport,” Shungu bitterly said.

Shungu, who is under pressure from his bosses and fans to bring success to the club, has spent more time dealing with players who prefer plying their skills in DR Congo.

Shungu revealed that he is not ready to work again with the likes  Bokota, Taribo, Pizzolera, Geremi and Ndume Wa Ndume among others.

He noted, "Rayon Sport made poor player recruitment and this hindered  our pursuit for silverware this season including our poor showing at the Kagame Cup in Dar es Salaam where we failed to get past the quarter final stage”.

Rayon were knocked out of the regional club championship in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Tusker on a 7-6 penalty shoot-out after the 90 minutes had ended goalless.

"I don’t enjoy working under these circumstances; i’m hungry for success and this will be possible if I have young local players who have the inspiration to develop their country’s football standards.

"I will resign if the club administrators fail to take my advice as coach. I will not be forced to work with players who are not productive any more,” Shungu clarified.

"Rayon is a club whose players are always in Goma playing other leagues instead of concentrating on what they are paid to do here,” Shungu cried, adding that the club has no defined rules governing its players.

"How can players just go anyhow from the club without anyone’s notice or even don’t take action when they find out,” he wondered.

Rayon has gone through turbulent times in recent years with players coming and going at will yet the club managers continue to pay such actions a deaf ear.

However, the blues club president Paul Muvunyi recently admitted that Rayon’s problem is not the players but the administrators.

Muvunyi is quite popular with the fans but he doesn’t enjoy as much status with his fellow administrators, most of whom look at him as a threat to their unpopular style of running the club.

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