Inside the SC Villa Camp: Has Mike Mutebi lost in the dressing room?

New Vision Online Reporter

SC Villa coach Mike Ray Mutebi celebrated his first win on Tuesday against minnows UTODA. He made a bullish statement after the final whistle: “The win is a blessed relief… players who don’t want to play for the club, won’t play for the club” He said in reference to embattled club captain Denis Guma.

His barely veiled attack laid bare some issues happening behind the scenes at the Villa Park, prime of which is that the coach who has barely been at the job for five matches has already lost the dressing room. 

Villa Striker Simon Sserunkuuma is reportedly in Mutebi's wrong books after missing a penalty

When  you thought that  his spat  with club captain Denis Guma would be kept in-house, Mutebi goes ahead to prove that the dressing room is no longer a sealed haven, where managers can fight, hurl boots and butt employees without fear of being exposed.

Did he open a can of worms? Every good  coach will tell you that one of the basic tenets of the modern game is to let whatever happens in the dressing room stay in the dressing room, be it the spirit, the togetherness and the commitment. 

SC Villa team Captain Denis Guma and five other players have already complained

Did we foresee these comments? Because, prior to SC Villa’s 3-0 win at Wankulukuku our reporter, getting a whiff of the resentment at Villa Park, camped there for training sessions observing the coach and stealthily talking to some players.  

He tells a story of how Mike Mutebi’s rocket science training tactics are creating resentment among a section of players who fail to see things in his complex manner.  

As it is, only thirteen out of the bulk of SC Villa players turned up for training in the game preceding last Tuesday’s match.  “There is resentment.” A player admits on condition of anonymity. 

According to him, Mutebi is outright arrogant and even though he can live with that, he says he has a very strenuous training regimen, which can even put world beaters FC Barcelona to shame.

It is this personality that puts Mutebi in cross-roads with his players especially older ones, who believe they also know and deserve some independence.

When The Kampala Sun put the question of personality to Mutebi soon after he took over the job at Villa Park in reference to his time at KCC, his response was of a younger boss trying to impose himself on older employees.

But as if he was also apologetic for his actions Mutebi said: “I had players who were more mature than I was and you expect that but now more mature and I’m the calmest among my technical staff.”

But he could be challenged on the same depending on the way he managed Maroons FC during his short-lived period as director of football and fell off with the current coach Asaph Mwebaze before the 2007/08 season ended.

Sadly, Mutebi will not listen to pleas from some Villa players who are ill equipped to handle his routines.

“He has poor communication skills,” complained another Villa player. He echoes Mutebi’s derogatory statements that target some players especially those who do not hail from Kampala.

“How can I teach you to play the modern game when you are from villages?”  He repeatedly tells them.  This is a reflection of now change between Mutebi, who coached KCC and now the SC Villa director of football.

In one incident he summoned former KCC defender Joseph Muhindo, who hailed from Kasese and while everybody thought he was going to impact some skill in the stout and averagely good hard working player, who had mistimed the ball and kicked air, he did the unthinkable.

“Muhindo! How many miles did you travel from Kasese to Kampala?” he asked furiously. And as the player pondered what to answer and probably the relationship between the question and the training he was doing, Mutebi proceeded sneeringly: “Is that the kind of football you brought along? Now what will I teach you?”

Villa Players plot the way forward durig a USL match

According to our source at Villa, team Captain Denis Guma and five other players have already complained about his confrontational personality and lax communication skills and he has not taken it lightly.

The source adds that Simon Sserukunma who missed a penalty in the last quarter of the game against BIDCO has since drawn the coach’s ire and they are not on friendly terms.  

Table manners.

The no-nonsense Mutebi, by far one of the most cultured coaches in Uganda is sadly a stickler for proper etiquette.  As a result, meal times have proven a nightmare for some players.

According to one of them, each player has to use a spoon fork and knife and should position in a particular posture on the dining table.   There is a deathly silence as they go about meals and one is never supposed to answer their phone. 

Class time

If meal times provide nightmares for some of the players, class time is worse. According to one of them, he is Mutebi is stricter than that math teacher you hated in school.  The SC villa players attend English and soccer lessons at Sun Shine Hotel in Kansanga, twice a week.

There, Mutebi draws soccer systems on board and discusses them with his players, most especially about their roles on the pitch.  Woe unto you if you don’t know English. “We have to adjust at all costs. Sadly some of us don’t have time to attend adult lessons,” another complains.

He says that Mutebi uses English all the time at training and though the inept player admits it is  good, he says that some players loathe him for that and many feign excuses to dodge the lessons.

Strenuous training

Mutebi’s training regimen involves two sessions a day.  One runs from 9:00 -11:00am and the second on at 3:00 – 5:00pm.  According to one player, a defender,. He has good training techniques. He reveals that each trainings session has a different training plan and they have learnt quite a lot from him although it is strenuous.

  He is however against Mutebi’s system of play, which involves the 3-4-3 formation which is an offensive system but this leaves the back line too weak.

 “He thinks we can play like Barcelona, his favourite team, yet few players can own the ball on the pitch.” He voices his concerns.

Disciplinary master

Mutebi is also painted as a no-nonsense coach with no qualms about benching his favourite player.

It is currently the case with club captain Denis Guma who has previously been turned away from training for appearing just minutes late. Mutebi’s disciplinary stance of having players report to camp a day before matches is threatening conjugal rights of some married players.

In usual bullish mood, Mutebi however insists that discipline on and off the pitch is what makes the modern football player.  He is not about to change on what the players term as a hard stance.  “I do not play or entertain indiscipline players. The pressure they are feeling right now just shows me that I am on the right path of turning them into future professionals the country will be proud of. Some will only realize when they make it and look back.” he concludes.