WITS ON THEWAY TO CONQUER PSL
Bafana icon says money can buy them success
BIDVEST Wits have to show their financial muscle to compete for titles, according to assistant coach Andre Arendse.
The former national team goalkeeper says the Clever Boys have to put a hold on promoting young players from their academy and buy quality players if they have hopes of ever winning the Premier Soccer League (PSL) title.
“They say money doesn’t buy you success, but money certainly goes a long way in helping you get success.
“It was necessary for the club to buy all these players and our league position right now proves that, ” said Arendse.
“No one gave us a chance in hell of being in the top four, but the players have responded and we have a very good chance of staying in fourth position, nevermind being in the Top 8.”
At the start of the season Roger de Sa, then coach and CEO, was fired and replaced by Spaniard and former Mamelodi Sundowns man Antonio Lopez Habas, with Jose Ferreira taking up the CEO job.
The clear-out wasn’t only in management and the technical team. Some players were let go and in came former Bafana skipper Aaron Mokoena, Thomas Sweswe, Tinashe Nengomasha, Botswana international Ofentse Nato and Faty Papy from Burundi. Calvin Kadi, who was sent to Portugal and Greece by De Sa, returned to the Clever Boys, joining Matthew Pattison to hunt for success. The list goes on.
Habas struggled to get the new team gelling quickly and sighting personal reasons, left the club in January and was replaced by Clive Barker.
“Clive and I couldn’t tell you if we will be here next season, but the majority of these players will. And if that is the case, then I am sure they will be title contenders,” Arendse said.
“We don’t have enough coming through our youth academy right now.
If we had, you could say we don’t have to spend so much money. But you need to spend it wisely and the way Wits have spent it really equates to how this has taken the team forward.”
The Clever Boys have made public their intentions to lure Supersport United coach Gavin Hunt to the club to replace Barker next season.
However, Ferreira admitted two weeks ago that the former Bafana mentor has the board in a dilemma regarding their decision after he turned the team’s fortunes around since his arrival.
“I am not the most experienced when it comes to coaching but I have picked up so much from Clive in the last couple of months. And the cherry on top is that we ’ ve moved from the lower league positions and have every possibility of finishing as high as fourth on the table and I’m delighted,” said Arendse.