Bucks staring down the barrel yet again

IN A dramatic pressing of relegation buttons by Mthatha Bucks, the club’s management has accused the players of not pulling their weight to save them from the drop.

This came as Bucks wobbled to yet another demoralising loss at home – this time beaten 2-1 by Uthongathi – to leave them rooted at the basement of the log.

In a no holds barred reaction Bucks chief operations officer Lunga Tukute said the club would take drastic action to stem the tide even though it might be too late as they are only left with six games.

Tukute said the club had already embarked on a frantic search for three quality players to rescue them out of the quagmire.

“We are looking for quality players because we have noted that some of the players in our squad are not pulling their weight,” he retorted.

“They do not seem to understand the situation we are in and we cannot throw in the towel.”

Bucks have a meagre 20 points from 26 games and with their current slide it will take a miracle of epic proportion to beat the drop.

For the first time Tukute appeared to realise the danger hovering above them as he banks on the club winning the next two games in order to survive.

This is a different tune from the one he has been singing when he kept dismissing relegation prospects even when matters appeared to be going pear-shaped.

Fortunately for the club, they will have at least a week of frantic search before their next game against Witbank Spurs away.

Tukute said nothing short of a win would be tolerated in the away clash against Spurs.

“We must start beating Spurs to harbour any ambitions of safety failing which we will be doomed,” he said.

Beating Spurs will not be a foregone conclusion as the Witbank side is a formidable outfit ensconced at the seventh spot with a healthy 33 points.

The Mpulamalanga outfit played to a solid 1-all draw against Tuks away and they will be favourites to add more misery to the only Eastern Cape soccer club in the National First Division (NFD).

But Tukute wants to hear none of that analogy arguing that if the players pull up their socks a victory could be achieved.

“Every team can beat another team so it comes down to who wants it most,” he said.

“If the players want this victory they can get it. They will have to come to the party here.”