Masutha working within tight cash constraints

Black Leopards coach Joel Masutha (right) is confident of assembling a team that will be able to compete in the Absa Premiership next season, despite working on a tight budget in a competitive transfer market.

Masutha said he would not make wholesale changes to the team and will only be bringing in a few players to strengthen where he feels they need to.

“We are in the negotiation phase with a few players we want. It is not easy because there is a lot of competition. It gets even harder when a big club also shows interest in a player you have targeted. But I am confident we will have a strong and competitive team when the season starts,” said Masutha yesterday.

Lidoda Duvha are said to be competing with Orlando Pirates for the services of Zambian striker Lazarus Kambole, but Masutha is confident he will choose them.

“I have been following him for a long time and he knows it. I spoke to him a few times as I kept tabs on him. We know he might just want to go to a big club and we won’t blame him for that. Every player wants to play for the top clubs. But I am hoping that we will land him.

“I think we will have 98% of the team tied down by the weekend. The other position we need to strengthen is at leftback and we are also talking to a Zimbabwean player we saw at the recent Cosafa Cup and we should have him tied down by the time we start our pre-season on Monday,” said Masutha.

Leopards will play in the Premiership for the first time in four years after securing their promotion via the play-offs earlier this month. Masutha said their plan for next season is not just to avoid relegation but to be a competitive side.

“We are not going to just make up the numbers. When other teams come here, they should know they will be in for a hard time,” he said.