Roger Sikhakhane
Taking the National First Division by storm
Thanda Royal Zulu coach Roger Sikhakhane says the fine start the club has enjoyed in the first half of the National First Division season boils down to the players enjoying themselves under his tutelage. Thanda have been in superb form so far this campaign, heading into the mid-season break on top of the table, 10 points ahead of closest challengers Royal Eagles. They remain unbeaten in those matches – an NFD record for the first half of the season. Sikhakhane insists it’s all about giving the players freedom and getting the best out of their respective areas of talent. ‘’My coaching style is simple; just play football. I like a free-flowing football game and I don’t have many restrictions on the players,’’ Sikhakhane says. ‘’ That’s my philosophy. I’m not copying anybody’s book and there’s no-one I can single out as having influenced my thinking. Any coach who believes in players playing according to their strengths and is willing to work to improve them where they need to be improved, will succeed. ‘’I like coaches who do not copy the books of others or change the players’ style of play, but add a few pieces on what the players already have.” When he arrived at the club, Thanda were on the verge of relegation and the ignominy of dropping down to the ABC Motsepe League. “When I came to the team there were a lot of coaches who were leaving left, right and centre,’’ he says. ‘’With so much instability, I needed to come in and change the mentality of the players. It wasn’t difficult for the players to adapt to my way. But you must be bear in mind that I didn’t have time to sign players; I had to work with what we had. ‘’Somewhere, somehow I used my experience in football to get the results. It was absolutely difficult because sometimes I found myself using two central midfielders as centre-backs.’’ With Thanda looking on course to return to the top-flight under his stewardship for the first time since their relegation in 2009, Sikhakhane has lauded the club for the strong working environment which has continued to prosper. ‘’I think it’s because of the good working relationship between the coach, the players and the management,’’ Sikhakhane reveals. “There has to be synergy between all three. You can be a good coach, but if you don’t work in a proper way with your technical team and players, or the management of the club, you are bound to fail and it will be difficult for you to get the desired results. “Everything went according to our plan in the first half and we exceeded our target. Everyone expected
us to drop points at some point or that we’d run into this or that hurdle. But with our emphasis of respecting each opponent intact, we’ve gone from strength to strength.” Sikhakhane launched his coaching career when he was in charge of ABC Motsepe side Island FC in KwaZulu-Natal, before moving up to the NFD, where he twice helped Chippa United to Absa Premiership promotion. Yet his on-off relationship with Chippa United owner Chippa Mpengesi infamously culminated in his sacking towards the end of 2015 following allegations that he arrived for a friendly against Mthatha Bucks smelling of alcohol. To this day Sikhakhane denies he was drunk. ‘’It’s one of those things in life you need to accept, because you will never know the honest truth. I think those people who came with those accusations are now regretting having made them,’’ Sikhakhane says. ‘’But I don’t have a problem because life goes on. They said whatever they wanted to, but to be honest with you, on that day, I was with the chairman the whole day and he even said he didn’t smell anything on me. “But someone who was not even there, who probably had his own issues, decided to get between me and the chairman and fed people the story.” Sikhakhane however reveals he’s still in good terms with Mpengesi despite their disputes of the past. ‘’We spoke after that incident. We had an argument on the radio … but when you are a football person, you can’t hold grudges all your life. ‘’He phones me sometimes and I don’t have a problem picking up the phone to talk to him. Our relationship remains professional. Chippa wasn’t the one who came with stories, but rather some other people did. The chairman didn’t comment up until on the last day of the issue. But I don’t have any grudges with anyone … I’ve passed that stage.’’ With so much coaching experience already attained, Sikhakhane has given himself more time to learn the trade, with that being his immediate focus. He would, of course, love to coach a big team at the highest level, but is loath to reveal which team he grew up supporting. “I won’t say I’ve got the dream of coaching one of the bigger teams but as an up-and-coming coach, you wish to coach one of the biggest teams in the country,’’ he says. “I was 34 years old when I started coaching at Premier Soccer League level. I’m 41 now, so I think anything is possible. Maybe I will reach that level and coach one of the biggest teams. Maybe I’ll coach at national level, you never know. “Growing up, I used to support one big team in Soweto. But I can’t reveal who right now because I may join the other club instead, so I don’t want to jinx it!’’