NAIROBI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- It may be only a friendly on paper but for Dylan Kerr, the coach of Kenya's Gor Mahia FC, playing against English side Hull City FC presents a golden chance to showcase his work to the world.
Kerr arrived in Kenya in July 2017 and went on to lead Gor to the domestic Kenyan Premier League title, stretching their all-time record to 16.
A fortnight ago, he guided his team to the the group stages of the 2018 CAF Confederations Cup.
It could have been better for the British tactician, but his side was controversially beaten 1-0 on aggregate by Tunisian titans, Esperance de Tunis in their 2018 CAF Champions League first round match.
On Tuesday next week, Kerr will send out his team to face eternal enemies and domestic cup holders, AFC Leopards SC in the biggest football derby in Kenya.
At stake is the chance to play English second-tier Championship side, Hull City on May 13 in Nairobi.
Should the one-off game end all-square after 90 minutes, a post-match penalty shootout will be used to decide who will will face the Tigers in the climax of their maiden five-day tour of Kenya.
Kerr could have done without having extra games added to the congested run of fixtures exacerbated by their continental campaign and their tight domestic title defence.
The Tigers are under the tutelage of fellow Englishman Nigel Adkins, 55, who was appointed to replace Leonid Slutsky last December after the former Russian national team head coach left Hull after only six months in charge.
Adkins is connected to Kerr through English sides Reading FC and Sheffield United FC where the former managed and the latter played his professional football.
Since taking the task of managing Gor, one of the most demanding and well supported teams in East Africa, Kerr has been able to form a strong opinion on Kenyan football and is eager to show the world what the country's footballers are capable of.
In his stint, Kerr has grown to appreciate the potential in Kenyan players believing they can establish their country as a force in the game with adequate investment.
"It is one thing to have a huge pool of talent and a different thing knowing how to nurture this talent for the greater good. Having clear structures that identify gifted individuals to train and teach them football fundamentals will go a long way [toward] enhancing better decision making and professionalism," the Briton noted.
Using smart rotation, Kerr has made his squad the hardest to beat and besides relying on experienced internationals from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Cote d'Ivoire, he has given unknown players a chance to excel in the first team.
"These youth teams will eventually evolve to complete football players who can help the country scale to the highest level of football imaginable," Kerr stressed.
After making the Confederations Cup group phase, Gor have won and drawn their last two league encounters to lead the standings by three points with two games in hand over their nearest rivals.
Should they prevail on Tuesday, Gor will play the Tigers and immediately hop into a plane and make the long trip to USM Alger of Algeria on May 16 to open their Confederations Cup Group D campaign. That potentially means they will have played six games in 14 days, stretching a squad that has been hit by injuries and fatigue.
"We are the league's defending champions and the league leaders, so I think we should have been selected to play Hull. I don't know why we had to go into this play-off," Kerr lamented to local media on April 23.
However, the chance to take on a fellow Englishman and putting his players on the international shop window is a prize too good to pass up.
"I'm left with a decision to make because playing against a Championship side is a huge opportunity for these players like we had with Everton last year," Kerr said.
The next few days will be Kerr's toughest test since he landed in Kenya but no one can bet against him emerging from it all with an enhanced reputation.
