Just another day in the PSL
It wouldn't have been a typical break from football without a PSL coach getting sacked.
|||It wouldn’t have been a typical break from football without a PSL coach getting sacked. And there was plenty of action behind closed doors at two of KwaZulu-Natal’s top-flight clubs yesterday.
The number of coaches who have lost their jobs in the PSL - some way off before the halfway mark of the 2015/16 season - had gone up to six by the afternoon, with the resignation of Serame Letsoaka from Golden Arrows the most bizarre.
Around the corner at Maritzburg United, recently appointed coach Clive Barker was always at risk of being shown the door having managed just four points from a possible fifteen in his five matches in charge. He was “too soft to deal with the pressure”, according to club chairman Farook Kadodia.
Letsoaka’s was a shock, with a source telling The Star the coach has two concrete offers from two PSL teams. One of the clubs is believed to be Bloemfontein Celtic, who parted ways with their coach Clinton Larsen a little over a week ago following a disagreement with management to rope in a second assistant to help improve results. Celtic are sixth in the standings.
“That was supposed to be a confidential resignation letter and I expected the club to release their own statement announcing my departure instead of putting my original letter and home address on social media,” Letsoaka was quick to point out when asked why he had quit his job.
The former Bafana Bafana and SuperSport United coach, who has impressed in his short stint at Arrows by claiming the big scalps of Mamelodi Sundowns, SuperSport and Orlando Pirates, stated in the letter that “working in Durban was beginning to take strain on my family life”.
After 10 games, Arrows appeared comfortable in seventh place on the league table and nowhere near being considered relegation candidates, which is often the case with Abafana Bes’thende. “I have had a wonderful experience working at Golden Arrows. As a result, it is a sad occasion that I write to inform you of my decision to resign as head coach,” read the letter, which was dated November 30 and had Letsoaka’s physical address in Johannesburg.
In her response to the coach quitting, owner Mato Madlala at first preferred for all questions to be directed to Letsoaka before eventually having her say.
“You guys in the media always think club bosses push coaches. His reasons are in the letter and it doesn’t feel right to speak for him. What’s done is done and I want to put this behind me. The coaches are also allowed, like the rest of us, to resign and pursue other challenges,” said the acting PSL CEO.
She has her hands full now. But perhaps not as full as her Maritzburg counterpart Kadodia, who fired a second coach this season with just 11 matches played. BUt they are bottom of the log and he admitted panic was starting to set in.
“I have never had such a terrible take-off in all my years at this club. Our position indicates mediocrity and we owe it to the brand to try and get out of this situation as soon as possible,” Kadodia explained.
“There are no hard feelings between the club and Clive, but he proved to be a bit too soft for the pressure that came with the position we were in. I think Steve Komphela (who resigned before the season began to join Chiefs) left shoes that were too big to fill, especially for Mandla (Ncikazi, who was fired in September).” - The Star