Victor Wanyama’s coach admits big gamble with ex-Harambee Stars skipper before nightmare debut

Victor Wanyama is shown a red card on his debut for Dunfermline against Ayr United. IMAGE: IMago

Victor Wanyama’s coach admits big gamble with ex-Harambee Stars skipper before nightmare debut

Joel Omotto 12:25 - 30.03.2025

Dunfermline Athletic coach Neil Lennon has admitted he took a risk by selecting Victor Wanyama for Saturday’s match which saw him receive a straight red card on his debut.

Dunfermline Athletic manager Neil Lennon has admitted Victor Wanyama was not in his optimal conditions when he made his nightmare debut for the Scottish Championship side.

Wanyama made a surprise free transfer to the Scottish second tier club this week after being out of action since his contract with MLS side CF Montreal ended in November 2024.

The midfielder made an instant debut, starting on the bench, as Dunfermline Athletic took on Ayr United on Saturday, but his first match turned out to be a nightmare.

Nineteen minutes after his introduction, Wanyama received a straight red card for what the referee deemed a deliberate handball.

The Kenyan midfielder was beaten for pace by an Ayr forward and he stumbled and got his hand on the ball, forcing the referee to flash out a red card, as what was supposed to be a fairytale return to Scotland turned into a nightmare.

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“He slipped and his initial reaction is to reach out for it,” Lennon told the club website about what he thought of Wanyama’s red card.

“But I thought we had a Jeremiah there, I didn’t think the guy would have been clean through. Listen, I’m not happy with the referee.

“I got booked today for apparently contesting the decision where my player got flattened and then the guy remonstrates with the referee and still didn’t get a card. Very, very strange performance from him. Like I said, I felt we definitely should have had a penalty in the first half.”

Lennon then went on to explain how he felt sorry for Wanyama, who will now sit out three games, while admitting he took a gamble on him knowing he was not fully fit.

“I know, I know. I knew he was rusty,” the former Celtic coach said of what he thought of the ex-Harambee Stars skipper.

“We actually had a real good spell at 1-0 and the second goal, in the fashion of it as well but I thought Bene had a great game today, other than that. He needs to get minutes into his legs as quickly as possible.

“Now he’ll have to do a lot of conditioning work and training with the rest of the squad. He’ll be ready for next week, hopefully. I hope it’s just one game.”

Dunfermline Athletic went on to lose the game 3-0 which compounds their relegation woes as they are ninth on the 10-team log and will have to play the next three games without their new signing Wanyama, who penned a short-term deal until the end of the season.