Celtic's failures leave fired Letsoaka resigned to defeat
Sacked Bloem Celtic coach Serame Letsoaka said he has no regrets in the way he went about trying to make a name for himself in the PSL.
|||Johannesburg - Sacked Bloemfontein Celtic coach Serame Letsoaka said on Monday he had no regrets in the way he went about trying to make a name for himself in the PSL.
A man who spent the better part of his career as a junior national team coach and working as an assistant to Gordon Igesund at both Bafana Bafana and SuperSport United, got his big break when Golden Arrows handed him the reins in June last year. But Letsoaka jumped ship four months later to take over at Celtic - until he was fired two days ago.
“Things happen for a reason,”he explained. “I was with (Safa) for a long time and had to try something new. I honestly do not have any regrets at all and I still have faith in what I can do because the style of football at Celtic encouraged me. It is a pity the goals were not coming and, sadly, a decision was taken based on the results.”
Celtic did try and persist with Letsoaka, giving him an entire year to settle, even when the club supporters were adamant they wanted the coach fired. The Free State-based side risked relegation in May, believing that Letsoaka, who replaced one of their most successful coaches in Clinton Larsen - who is coincidentally currently thriving at Arrows - remained the right man for the hot seat.
“I had already informed the management that if we do not win against Bidvest Wits (a home game on Saturday night) I would resign,”said Letsoaka, who watched in dismay as Celtic were beaten 2-1 by this season’s MTN8 winners in front of their own crowd. “I then had a meeting with the chairman (Max Tshabalala) the next day to say I have played my part and someone else should perhaps take over.”
Letsoaka said he was unfortunate that in six matches (three defeats, one win, and two draws) Celtic were not able to turn their dominance over the opposition into victories. He also suggested that the search for a striker to shoulder the scoring responsibility was left until late, with Abdul Razak and Atusaye Nyondo only brought in closer to the start of the new campaign.
“I am not sure if we did enough in the market,”the coach said. “Abdul was not with us during pre-season because he was with Mamelodi Sundowns and we were negotiating to get him back. Remember that Nyondo came from a club that had just been relegated (University of Pretoria) and arrived injured. So, we had issues in an area we knew needed a solution. One of my mentors always told me that a coach is responsible for how the team plays, not the results. I believe that now.”
Letsoaka said he would take a break over the coming months and look to return to club football refreshed and ready to make his mark again.
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The Star