Menzo takes some R&R

Ajax coach jets off to the Netherlands to plot strong end to the season

AJAX CAPE TOWN coach Stanley Menzo is spending the next few days back at home in the Netherlands. He will use the opportunity of familiar surroundings to recharge, take stock and, hopefully, come back with renewed vigour and a fresh, innovative plan to galvanise his team into action.

Currently in a lowly 12th position on the 16-team PSL log with 22 points, the Cape side is in a precarious position where they could so easily, if they do not turn things around soon, be caught up in a relegation battle.

When Menzo, a former Ajax Amsterdam and Netherlands goalkeeper, took over as head coach of the Mother City club in October last year, they were rock-bottom of the league.

He rapidly got them on track, winning five of their last six games before the January break. This year, though, things haven’t gone according to plan. Since the resumption of the season, Ajax have registered two defeats and four draws.

But, while they may not have won a game in 2017, it’s not something that, as yet, concerns Menzo. The two defeats have been against the PSL’s two top-placed teams – Cape Town City and Wits – and the coach is confident that a win is not too far off.

Menzo left for the Netherlands on Wednesday night and a meeting with the Ajax Amsterdam brains trust of former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar (now an executive director at the Dutch club) and former Arsenal and Barcelona winger Marc Overmars (now the director of football) is on the cards.

“I have some work to do at home, some private things I have to see to,” said Menzo. “And, while there, I will have some talks with Ajax Amsterdam…”

On Wednesday, just before he left, Menzo had Ajax in action, in steaming conditions, in a friendly against promotion-chasing NFD side Stellenbosch FC. It was an opportunity to give some fringe players, as well as those recently back from injury and in need of match practice, an opportunity for some competitive football. Ajax won 3-0, with two goals from Nathan Paulse and the other from new Zambian signing Aubrey Funga. “The weather was not important,” said Menzo, pictured. “What was more important was that the players get some game time.

“Playing is always far better than training. The players were up against a good opponent (Stellenbosch) – and, in such training games, they are tested in game situations, with a referee and off-sides and everything that goes with a proper, competitive match. In this way, they learn more because they have to react to the game situations they find themselves in.”

As the PSL stands, except for the top five – City, Wits, SuperSport, Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns – it’s actually quite tight among the others. For example, in sixth place are Polokwane City with 27 points – with just two wins Ajax can reel them in. It’s this traffic jam in mid-table that gives Menzo hope for when he returns from the Netherlands.

“At this stage of the season, every point is important,” said the Ajax coach. “It’s very tight, so just one or two wins and you move up quickly. But we still have to do it… Every team in the same position as us is fighting, so we just have to deal with it.

“The big problem at the moment is goals. Ball possession is important, but it has to end in creating chances or in goals. That is something we at Ajax Cape Town have to learn – when you are in control of the game, you must finish.”

On the plus side, Menzo is starting to get his injured players back – and the two-week international break probably comes at a great time for the Urban Warriors to get them all fit and ready. Paulse is already back, Tashreeq Morris should be ready, and Toriq Losper is expected to be back when the campaign resumes on 1 April, when Ajax are away to Maritzburg United. For Menzo, though, having all the players available is a bit of a double-edged sword.

“It makes it easier, yes, because you have the players available, but it also means that selection is difficult,” he said. “You have to disappoint some players when you make decisions… But as long as they understand that it is for the benefit of the team, and for us to get out of the situation we are in. We have to make the club safe – that is the priority right now.”

In addition to his desire to ensure Ajax finish the season as high as they can, Menzo also has one eye on next season. It’s no secret that star defenders Rivaldo Coetzee and Mosa Lebusa are in demand – and there is a strong possibility that they could be on their way.

“We are already busy with planning for next season, even though the current campaign is still under way,” said the Ajax coach. “We are looking at what we need and what is available, and that is also why we have to make sure that we move up the table. If there are players we would like (to) bring to the club, then they obviously need to know what the future of the club looks like before they sign.”

THE PSL coaching roller-coaster took another twist yesterday with Maritzburg United and Roger de Sa parting ways less than three months after their union.

According to a statement released by the Midlands club, De Sa handed in his resignation on Wednesday, citing family commitments in Cape Town as his reason for leaving.