Dan has big plans for Chilli Boys
Returning coach wants team to adopt more aggressive style of play – and score goals
FANS can expect to see a more aggressive and results-oriented Chippa United in the Premier Soccer League next season, according to returning coach Dan “Dance” Malesela. The coach also promised to maintain the entertaining style of play the Chilli Boys are known for in the league.
Malesela was surprisingly announced as Chippa’s new coach only 12 days after club chairman Siviwe Mpengesi handed Serbian Vladislav Heric the job.
The coach returns to the hot seat only eight months after he was fired by the club for non-performance.
Asked about his return, the former Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates skipper said: “I am very excited to be back at Chippa United.
“It wasn’t a difficult situation. We never even debated too much. We just had one talk and that was it. I will be back in PE around mid-June because I only realised now that the league is opening as early as the third of August.
“So, I had to change the date that was set to start preparing for the new season, because I wouldn’t have had enough time with the team.
“I didn’t even know that we had lost quite a number of players. I need to see how we can get the new players to understand how I work.
“There are new things that I want to introduce and they are quite difficult, so I need them to understand even before the league kicks off.”
Malesela produced fairly good results at the Port Elizabeth-based side during his previous stay.
He was the first coach to take Chippa into the MTN 8 after finishing sixth on the log in the 2016-17 season.
Last season, he led the Chilli Boys into two cup semifinals. Now he said he wanted to go one step further.
Asked about his mandate and his plans with the team, Malesela said: “We haven’t spoken too much about that but obviously we need to replace some players that we have lost.
“Also, I want to bring a new dimension into our approach – how we play and what we do, because we need to be more offensive. I am mindful of the outcry in the country over the lack of goal-scoring. We need to really focus on those points and see what we can get from our players in terms of scoring goals.”
He said a number of clubs had been interested in signing him before he received Mpengesi’s call.
“There was one club that was really interested but as soon as something happened, they changed their mind.
“But I did have quite a number of offers from clubs especially in the National First Division that were definite. They were just waiting for me to say yes.
“However, I still want to be in the PSL. I belong in the PSL for now and I thought to myself this is the club that I know best.
“Plus there are other things I want to achieve as well with the club because going into the semifinal twice was not enough for me.
“We need to go to the semifinal, final and, if we can win a cup, win it. We need to advance this club further than where we are.”