Chippa get another new coach
Notoriously trigger-happy Chippa United boss Chippa Mpengesi on Wednesday fired coach Joel Masutha and replaced him with former Bafana Bafana player Clinton Larsen.
Though Chippa chief operating officer Lukhanyo Mzinzi said he could neither confirm nor deny Masutha’s sacking, at least two reliable sources close to the camp confirmed he was on his way out.
The coach himself said on Wednesday night he had yet to be informed, and the club has also not released a statement.
Larsen, who parted ways with Golden Arrows in late December, will be Chippa’s fifth coach of the season, which has only passed its halfway stage.
Vladislav Heric was appointed ahead of the start of the campaign but was fired without taking charge of a game. He was replaced by Dan Malesela, who then gave way to Eric Tinkler.
Masutha took over in early December and was only in charge as an interim coach for five games, none of which he managed to win.
Contacted soon after the news broke on Wednesday, Masutha said: “No, no, no . . . that is news to me. Maybe they will fire me, I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything, I’ve just arrived in my house in PE, we just landed [from Johannesburg].”
He then told Marawa Sport Worldwide on Wednesday evening: “You know, I can say there is no smoke without fire, but at the same time I don’t want to be in the same boat as Dan [Malesela]. So I am at the club until otherwise notified.”
Chippa are also looking to end the contracts of six of their biggest earners as Mpengesi looks to tighten the club’s belt.
Thabo Nthethe‚ James Okwuoso‚ Buyani Sali‚ Jabulani Shongwe and Miguel Timm have all been told they are out of the club and must look for new employment, while Thato Mokeke has gone to Cape Town City.
Chippa suffered another loss on Tuesday night, going down 4-2 to Soweto giants Orlando Pirates at Orlando Stadium. The defeat came straight after their 1-0 defeat by Bloemfontein Celtic at East London’s Sisa Dukashe Stadium on Friday.
The setback has seen the Port Elizabeth-based side go 10 league matches without a win, with their last victory dating back to October 2018.
After 17 games, the Chilli Boys are languishing at the bottom of the log with 12 points.
Speaking to the media after the Pirates loss on Tuesday, Masutha said he was hoping the chair would keep his six-shooter holstered for a while longer.
“I hope he has lost his gun so that he cannot pull the trigger on me. But if Jose Mourinho can be fired, who is known worldwide and has achieved a lot, then who am I?
“But, I don’t think about that – if it happens it happens. I have said it before at my previous club, I am not afraid of it [being fired] because that is beyond me. It is not my decision.”