"We have an opportunity to wake up a sleeping giant"

The Kenya head coach on his team's impressive performances at the recent African Nations Championship and building for the future

- Mark Gleeson

After almost a decade as a coach at club level, including on the staff at Manchester United, how have you found the irregular rhythm of being a national team coach?

That is the one thing that I've kind of struggled to get to grips with because I'm no longer active every day, so the switch has been crazy. It has been hard to adjust, because you go from working with players every single day, getting to know players, their personalities, prepping for training, prepping for meetings, prepping for games every weekend. You're on your toes every day. But when it comes to the national team, you just go and watch matches and watch players. You get data and feedback from everyone, speak to clubs, speak to managers, speak to coaches, know about their players, and then sometimes go and watch training sessions at clubs. But oh my God — you're not part of it, you're just on the outside, you're just watching. And that's my killer - I so want to be involved!

The one positive is it allows me to go home to Scotland more frequently and spend more time with the family. But of course, you achieve so much more when you work on a daily basis.

Your unveiling as Kenya coach in March was quite an event amid much excitement. They seemed so thrilled to have you there...

Honestly, I kind of felt like I was back in 1998 when I broke through with the South African team, finishing top scorer at the Africa Cup of Nations finals and then scoring at the World Cup finals. It was crazy then how my life changed, I became an overnight sensation, the darling son of the new era of South African football - and that’s what it feels like in Kenya at the moment. Everybody is optimistic and excited about the team, the players that we've picked, and they can't wait for the national team to play.