Ferreira will rise and shine

Veteran coach Johnny Ferreira has not given up on his wish to guide a team in the top-flight and is now aiming to help Polokwane City back into the DStv Premiership so he can fulfil his wish.

Ferreira has only worked as an assistant in the top flight in his many years as a coach and feels he has to try his hand at the top level as well, before thinking about retiring from the game.

He had set out to do it with Sekhukhune United but was then surprisingly removed as head coach and given the role of technical advisor, which he was unhappy with, Phakaaathi has heard.

It is not clear why the club decided to “promote” him when he was going well, hadn’t lost a match and were top of the GladAfrica Championship standings.

“That’s why he jumped at the chance to coach at Polokwane, even though the team were at the bottom end and he still has ambitions, but being a glorified technical advisor wasn’t fitting in with his plans,” said a source.

Ferreira has himself said that he wants to be involved in the Premiership and even if that happens when he is 80, he will keep pushing for it.

The 63-year-old has been an assistant to the likes of Clive Barker, Neil Tovey, Paul Dolezar, Sammy Trougton and Jacob Sakala, among others.

He came close to guiding Uthongathi FC to the top-flight last season and some in the Kwa-Zulu-Natal club still believe they would have won promotion had he not been sacked.

The Cane Cutters were leading the race in the Championship when Ferreira was pushed out and the team struggled afterwards and ended up not even making the playoffs.

But now he has found a new lease on life at Rise and Shine and he aims to help the club who were relegated last season back into the Premiership.

He has his work cut out though, with the club having let almost all of their experienced players go and rebuilt with youngsters.