With just seven matches into the new Sierra Leone Premier League season, alarm bells are ringing at Kenema Kamboi Eagles, having failed to win any of the seven (drawn 5, lost 2).

The club currently sits third bottom with just five points; the same number of points as the team in the bottom of the league.

“We were expecting a tough season, but this is proving to be tougher than we expected. We have a young squad mostly home-grown. So we’re still trying to find our feet among the big boys,” Mohamed Skillo Jabbie, Secretary, Kenema Kamboi Eagles.

The club is going through difficult times both on and off the pitch. Formation of a board and review of the club’s constitution were at the center of their plans before the season started, but all that proved futile as none was achieved.

Football stakeholders in Kenema who spoke to this writer are of the firm believe that the Manzola-led executive is not capable of moving the club to the next level, and has outlived its mandate. Even though they recognize his strides over the years, they are convinced he should call time on his decade-long reign.

That could be the reason why most stakeholders are staying away from the club.

There have been calls for his resignation for the interest of the club, but that doesn’t seem part of his plans.

“I’m a soldier. I won’t resign. However, if a decision is reached to get rid of me by the majority, who am I to say no,” Chairman Brima Manzola Kamara during one of the stakeholders’ meetings.

These wrangling seem to be severely affecting the players performance on the pitch.

“It’s so hard at the moment. Definitely, the problem lies with the management and technical team. (stocktargetadvisor.com) No motivation for us the players. How do they expect us to survive especially some of us who have left our families in Freetown? At the moment, we haven’t been paid our salaries, even during the Christmas holidays, nothing was given to us. We’re suffering!” a senior figure among the players who sometimes captains the side, said.

Head Coach Alimu Koroma (System) is yet to win a single match since his appointment. Some of the players also complained about his tactics. They think he’s not good enough for the task.

He’ll have his work cut out when he faces in form Bo Rangers who’re currently leading the table on Sunday in Kenema. A South-Eastern derby which always delivers.

This accounts for Kamboi Eagles worst start to a league season in recent years. Though the club hasn’t relegated before, but if things don’t change anytime soon, that might become a real possibility.