Ayanda Dlamini hits back!
On allegedly not liking Manziba
“When Guily was signed, I was never consulted, but that’s something I didn’t have a problem with because whenever coach Romain was bringing players, I wouldn’t be consulted anyway. It’s lies that I don’t like foreigners. If what he says was true, a guy like Riaan Hanamub wouldn’t have played. Riaan is a foreigner and he played under me. Dion was unfortunately injured, he would have played more if he wasn’t because we needed him badly. That’s why we played him against Sundowns and he scored our equaliser in the 2-2 draw. Kwem is a foreigner and he played and scored an important goal for us against Cape Town City to make it 2-2 in the dying minutes. The most hurting part is that I was always in communication with Guily and I’m disappointed that he’s saying the things he’s saying now. I remember before we played SuperSport, I spoke with Guily for about three or four times, he was the one coming to me to chat, and at that time I thought he was okay with everything. He came to tell me that he knew how SuperSport was playing because he played there. He offered me advice on how he thought we should approach the game and I told him that I’d consider what he said. In the six games that I was given towards the end of the season, it wasn’t only Guily who didn’t play much. The team was under pressure and we needed players that we were sure would give us something to save the team from relegation. When Guily was signed, he hadn’t played competitive football for very long. So, for me, even when coach Roman was there, Guily didn’t give the team much when he played. Even under coach Romain, Guily didn’t play that much, and I don’t understand why he says I didn’t like him when the coach who brought him wasn’t putting him in the matchday squads towards the end of his spell. He was not injured, but it was decided that a youngster would do well in his position as he wasn’t giving us much in terms of what we needed at that stage of the season. Yes, we were disappointed in him as an experienced guy whom we expected a lot from, but I don’t think it’s fair of him to say the things he is saying. I know him as a good guy and a praying person and I’m very disappointed when he goes out to lie like that.
On players selecting the team
That’s also false. Amanga aluhlaza, mf’ethu (It’s pure lies, brother). I wasn’t coaching AmaZulu for the first time when Guily was with us, I coached the team in the 2019/20 season, and I’ve never gone to the players to ask for their assistance in making the line-ups. If I did that, it would have meant that I wasn’t a coach. If I asked certain players to make the line-ups for me, surely they would have selected themselves and their friends even if they didn’t deserve to play. I normally release the line-up a day before a game, but towards the end when I took charge, I changed the strategy to naming the starting XI two hours before a game. I didn’t want anyone to relax knowing that they were already in the team. For an experienced guy like Guily, I didn’t expect him to say all these things just because he left the club. I don’t know if he is being xenophobic or what, but it is a very sensitive issue. Manziba’s exclusion was based on his performance and nothing else. At the end of the season, as the president was going through each player’s contribution, I was shocked when he asked, “How did this Manziba get signed?” I told the president that I was never consulted. Now my image is being compromised, but I’m this guy that I am and I’m fine with it because God knows the truth. Imagine a guy like Rama, an honest person and leader, being accused of making line-ups for the coach. How can he do that? You know if you are a coach, you will talk to players about certain issues pertaining to the team. You will ask for their views on the system that’s being played, like, “Guys, I want to try 4-4-2. Are you comfortable with that? Do you think we can go with it for this game or should we try 3-5-2, or whatever formation you will be comfortable with as senior players?” But that’s not like saying, “Put names down for me for the starting line-up.”
On players allegedly drinking
That doesn’t fall under the control of a coach. I once said it after we beat Sekhukhune in Durban. I was asked by journalists about the reports that players were drinking and always out while the team was in the relegation zone. I said as long as they were coming to training and did the job to help the team win games, I didn’t have a problem. They are adults and I can’t go after each and every player to monitor what they do after training or where they go. They are professionals. I defended my players for what they were giving me in the games and in training. If he says the players were going out, he was staying with them and it must be what he saw. I was not staying with the players and therefore I can’t comment. But I never smelled of alcohol from any player in training. It was normal reasons like getting a call from someone saying he was stuck in traffic, tyre puncture or a child being sick… things like that.”