Bradford City’s Head Coach, Mark Hughes, has expressed his surprise at Harambee Stars’ coach, Engin Firat’s decision to substitute Clarke Oduor just 20 minutes after he had come on as a substitute during Harambee Stars’ 1-0 loss to South Sudan at Nyayo Stadium.

When questioned about his decision to substitute Oduor, Firat stated that although Oduor was a good player, he seemed to be playing with fear or ‘brake’.

Hughes thoughts on Clarke Oduor

In response, Hughes described the decision as strange and mentioned that it left Oduor puzzled since there didn’t appear to be any injury or situation that would necessitate his substitution.

“I thought he was injured. That would be your normal take on it. I was sending texts and trying to get some information. But that wasn’t the case,” Hughes said.

“The manager decided to take him after 20 minutes. Clarke was scratching his head about it,” he added.

“He’s not going to say anything against his national team manager but I probably could. It seemed a strange one because it doesn’t usually happen.

“But the important thing for us is that he wasn’t injured. He wasn’t in a position that he had to come off, so he’ll be fine,” Hughes stated.

Clarke Oduor Stars chances

Hughes explained that he wouldn’t prevent his players from representing their national teams, and he believes that the decision to play for national teams is up to the individuals.

“You understand it. I would never stand in the way of players playing for their national team.

“It’s not something that you can do. You’ve got to allow them the opportunity and then they make decisions further down the line about whether or not their commitment is really that strong if they are not getting the game time that they feel. It’s very difficult to turn down your country,” Hughes emphasized.

Regarding Oduor’s upcoming international commitments, Hughes acknowledged that it would be a loss for the team but expressed satisfaction that they could utilize him when there are no international matches.

“We have to face that. It’s difficult when we don’t have weekends off as a consequence of international weeks. It does impact on us more than most. But we get the benefit of him when he’s not with his international team”

Oduor started in their 1-1 draw against Harrogate over the weekend.