Celtic boss has high hopes

Sibongiseni Gumbi

Bloemfontein Celtic’s new coach Veselin Jelusic (above) believes he knows just about enough about South African football to help Phunya Sele Sele become great again.

The Free State side have been on a steady decline over the past few years and only survived relegation on the last day of Absa Premiership matches last season. The 59-year-old Serbian-born coach believes he is the man to curb he rot.

“I have been in Africa for almost 20 years,” he said after guiding his team to a 1-0 win over AmaZulu in the Prince Mangosuthu Legacy Cup at the weekend.

“I first came to Africa in 1992 to Angola and coached a few teams there including the national team. I also spent eight years in Botswana with national team and some other teams,” he added.

Having played against South African opposition several times during his stay in Botswana, Jelusic has an idea of the local game.

“I have some experience of South African football because we came to play friendlies and some official games here a few times. We will try to play good football and also get results while maintaining the standard of football which the fans will appreciate,” he said.

Phunya Sele Sele have lost some of their important players with Lyle Lakay joining Cape Town City while Musa Nyatama and Dumisani Zuma left for Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.

“It is part of life and our job in football. We are sad that they are no longer with us. It is not going to be easy to replace them immediately but we will try our best,” he said.