I am the best – Baroka coach

KGOLOKO Thobejane has never been one to shy away from singing his own praises, and the Baroka FC mentor was at it again yesterday when he declared himself to be the best coach in South Africa.

Baroka are perched at the premiership summit and Thobejane said his unheralded side would emulate English club Leicester City and march to an unlikely league title in May.

“Personally‚ I believe that I am the best coach. I strongly believe that I am the best of the best‚” he said.

Thobejane’s charges have also reached the quarterfinals of the Telkom Knockout and they face Bidvest Wits in Johannesburg tomorrow night.

“Going into this game against Wits‚ we are more than ready and we want to bring this hoodoo we have against them to an end‚” he said.

“We have never beaten them after three matches but we normally lose to teams that are struggling [Wits are struggling and second from the bottom on the table].

“The Telkom Knockout is not like a league game‚ there must be a winner and we will be ready.”

When asked again if he still believed that Baroka would hang on to the top spot and win the league title‚ Thobejane said: “Yes‚ of course! If you want to eat nuts‚ do away with the shell – just crack it.

“We are there in position No 1 at the moment and there is no reason for us to be afraid.

“For us to keep our position, we have to fight with everything that we have.

“There are people who said we are keeping the umbrella for someone there at the top but it has been a few months since the league campaign started.”

Thobejane said he would not pay too much attention to Wits in his preparations for the match.

He said his focus would be on improving his team and plotting a maiden win over their hosts in the fourth attempt.

“No and a big no‚ I would never spend my energy on the opponent. I will spend my energy with my players and talk football because if I talk about the opponents‚ I will scare my players.”