‘Mind games working’
The intrigue of a working with a new coach‚ who in turn is forced to make things interesting for his squad‚ is Steve Komphela’s secret recipe for keeping Bloemfontein Celtic going amid the club’s financial crisis.
The new coach has walked straight into a storm with the Free State club up for sale and unable to make timeous payments several times in 2018.
But Komphela has soldiered on and‚ against the odds‚ has his side among the frontrunners in the Premier Soccer League‚ despite the off-field problems.
“There has been a level of curiosity from them . . . and from my side as well‚” said Komphela.
“It was exciting to work with a new group of players I had not worked with before.
“For them‚ it was a new voice [of leadership] and being shown things slightly different to what they were used to. I’ve tried to make training exciting and fresh and have them looking forward to it each day.
“It’s all about the mind-set‚ working on the minds and changing the mentality. Obviously‚ we cannot be oblivious to what is happening and pretend everything is hunky-dory.”
Celtic have continued to grind out important results in the face of their problems and after seven matches played so far this season‚ they have won four‚ drawn two and lost one.
They held champions Mamelodi Sundowns to a goalless draw on Wednesday night.
“It’s not been easy but the results are coming and they are giving us a sweet taste and the players are realising that with more focus they can achieve more‚” said Komphela.
“And‚ one way or the other‚ we have a way of persuading them to look at the positives‚ even while we are going through this [financial crisis].
“It’s important to play matches‚ we have contracts and we have to honour own responsibilities.”