Shape up or ship out: Akhulia cautions Bidco Utd flops amid relegation fears
By Joel Masibo, February 22, 2026Bidco United head coach Anthony Akhulia has cautioned his players against complacency as the Thika-based outfit risks relegation from the Football Kenya Federation Premier League.
Akhulia breaths fire
Speaking after suffering yet another costly defeat in the country’s top flight league against Nairobi United on Saturday, February 21, 2026, Akhulia admitted that the discouraging results at the club are not associated with coaching, but players’ commitment on the pitch.
Akhulia was alone in the dugout as his technical bench was suspended owing to poor performance, as he witnessed his men go down 3-0 to Naibois in the capital, further expressing belief in his craft.
”I always believe in what I do. I was alone on the bench as the other coaches were suspended. But again, it is not the coaching problem; from the results, you can see, it is something else,” Akhulia said.
Following their survival last season, Bidco United made a total overhaul of their squad at the onset of the new season. The management brought in new faces, mainly from the Division One League, where Akhulia has hinted they risk dropping to where they were picked, if at all they are not going to up their game.
Time to shape up
”As I said, the players need to step up, because the coaches will come back, from these results, it clearly shows that it is not coaching, it is individual mistakes. They only need to rise to the occasion and step up because this is a top league, not an amateur league. If you are playing in this league, you are a top player; if you cannot fit in the top league, then you just have to go back to where we got you,” Akhulia warned.
Bidco started the new campaign positively, edging giants Gor Mahia in their opening fixture at Kasarani before recording subsequent wins on the road as they cemented their position among title favourites.
Things started going south for Anthony Akhulia’s charges as his key players got sidelined along the way, seeing his men lose footing in the league standings toward the end of the first leg of the season.
However, despite blaming the decline at Bidco on individual mistakes, Akhulia is optimistic his men will survive the chop at the end of the current campaign. Kizza Mustafa, Benson Omala and Kevin Wangaya were on target for Nairobi United.
”We will keep working on, and we are not going to get relegated, if we get two or three wins somewhere.” He said. The defeat leaves Bidco United placed 17th on the log with 16 points in 21 outings, two points above Sofapaka FC, who are last in the league standings.