Aussems hints at AFC Leopards stay amid exit rumours

FKFPL Aussems hints at AFC Leopards stay amid exit rumours

Mark Kinyanjui 15:22 - 23.05.2023

Patrick Aussems is rumoured to leave Ingwe at the end of the season.

AFC Leopards Belgian tactician Patrick Aussems has hinted at staying at the Den beyond the end of the season despite rumors suggesting he could be leaving.

Aussems joined the club from Simba in 2020 and has had to build a team amidst the challenges that came with managing it, including a ban imposed on the club by FIFA owing to unlawful dismissal of former players. 

Under his tenure, Leopards have finished fourth and sixth in the league respectively despite having to use a core of young players.

So far, they are seventh in the league after 30 games played. Leopards have established a reputation for playing an attractive brand of football with the emphasis on playing out from the back using the skill of talented players like Kayici Odhiambo

Despite beating Gor Mahia in the Mashemeji Derby for the first time in seven years, they were bundled out of the semi-finals of the FKF Cup last Saturday by Kakamega Homeboyz.

The cup had been the side’s most realistic chance of qualifying for the CAF Confederations Cup next season. Despite claims Aussems is set to leave with Anthony “Modo” Kimani lined up to replace him according to reports, the 57-year-old tactician is looking forward to “helping very good players develop”.

“It is not the time to talk about my future. I am focusing on all our games until the end of the season. That is what is most important to me,” Aussems told Pulse Sports.

“I am looking forward to helping my team of very good players develop. If not this season, next season if I am still there.”

Aussems joined the club after a successful stint at Tanzania’s Simba where he guided them to the Tanzanian Premier League title in 2018-2019 season and reached the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League.

“The former Standard Liege defender joins us with vast experience having coached teams across Europe and Africa for the last 33 years.

“He has handled clubs like Sudan’s Al-Hilal – he won the Super Cup of Sudan and Congo Brazzaville’s AC Leopards where won the league in 2014 and qualified in the semifinals of Caf Confederation Cup 2014," read a statement from AFC Leopards when Aussems joined.