Young Africans fans jovially mob their new coach Tom Sentiefe (C) soon after his arrival at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam yesterday. ( Photo: Tryphone Mweji)

Troubled  Mainland top flight side Young Africans’ fans and officials yesterday celebrated the arrival of new coach Belgian Tom Saintfiet who landed at the Julius Nyerere International Airport yesterday.

 The coach, who previously trained Namibia and Zimbabwe national soccer teams, was mobbed by jovial fans who thronged at the airport arrival lounge in big numbers.

Most of the fans were in their traditional green and yellow coloured outfits singing and dancing to welcome the Belgian.

The coach said he acknowledges that Yanga is one of the big and popular clubs in the continent. He appreciated the fans and officials who took trouble to stay at the airport waiting for the flight that brought him.

It was all smiles for the fans as if the club has won silverware while they escorted their coach to his reserved hotel in the city.

However, the coach cautioned members of the club that they should not expect much from him within a short spell of taking the team for training ahead of the Kagame Cup that kicks off next weekend in Dar es Salaam.

Saintfiet said the time to train the team before the championship kicks off is too short and they should bear with him in case unpleasant results happen during the tourney.

The coach said he would do the best he can to train the team but there must be tolerance to lead a successful team into such title retention strategy.

Yanga are on their way to plot a title retention bid of the Kagame Cup they have previously won four times.

The coach has replaced Serbian Konstadin Papic whose tenure ended in April and the club was thereafter under stand in coach Fred Felix.

Pay dispute was one of the reasons the Serbian coach has been going through during his coaching career with Yanga that eventually lost grip in the Mainland premiership title race.

 The Belgian coach has arrived at the time when the club is still in the process of holding the general election on July15 following a steeping down of their chairman Lloyd Nchunga and a fleet of executive committee members.