New Chippa mentor determined to save club’s PSL status
● It’s going to be difficult, but I’m up for the challenge, says Seema
Newly appointed Chippa United soccer coach Lehlohonolo Seema says his immediate mandate is to save the club’s status.
The former Bloemfontein Celtic mentor was announced on Monday last week as the Eastern Cape side’s head coach.
Seema, 40, becomes the fifth coach to take charge of Chippa this season after the departure of Clinton Larsen, Duran Francis, Norman Mapeza and Rulani Mokwena.
The ex-Celtic and Pirates player comes at a very tough time as the team are fighting for survival.
Chippa are 12th on the log with 26 points from 24 games. They are only three points away from the playoff spot.
“I don’t have many plans but just to maybe get wins from two to three games to save the [club’s] status — that is the immediate mandate that I have been given,” Seema said.
“Then come next season we can build the team the way we want it. The chair [Siviwe Mpengesi] gave me his word that he will support me.
“So our main focus for this club for now is to make sure that we save our status.”
Asked which areas he would have to work on with the team to make sure he achieved the mandate, Seema replied: “No, holistically, we just need to approach the games very well.
“It’s going to be difficult, we have a short time.
“I had to self-isolate for 14 days, so I could not start working immediately.
“It’s just for us to respect all the opponents because as you can see the league is very close and congested.
“We just need to win more games than we are going to lose and make sure that if we can’t win it we have to get draws.
“I can’t really dive in and say ‘Hey, I need to work on this and that’, no.
“I am aware that we are only left with six matches before the league ends and these six games will be coming thick and fast because we are maybe going to play two or three games a week.
“So it’s going to be difficult, but I am up for the challenge,” he said.
Meanwhile, tension is brewing in the corridors of the game after the SA Football Association (Safa) flexed its muscles and insisted there would be no football played in the country until the PSL has fully complied with the health and safety directives of the joint liaison committee and the government.
The PSL is preparing to restart the season in 11 playing venues in Johannesburg and Pretoria in the coming days after months of coronavirus-enforced inactivity‚ but Safa is adamant that football cannot resume in a Covid-19 hotspot like Johannesburg.
The sport’s mother body also argues that the referees will not be ready to officiate in the coming weeks as they have not been tested and have not undergone physical training.
The governing body have insisted that football can only restart in mid to late August.
Safa also argued that the PSL had ignored the call made by sports minister Nathi Mthethwa‚ who pointed out in the recently updated government gazette that the mother body must play an overarching role in ensuring compliance to the safety protocols.
After their marathon board of governors meeting on Thursday‚ PSL acting CEO Mato
Madlala wrote a letter to Safa informing them of their decision to restart the season and confirming training venues.
“I write to inform you that the board of governors of the league met yesterday to determine training and playing venues‚ and the date to return to match play in biologically safe environment (BSE)‚” Madlala said in her letter that Safa did not take kindly to.
In response‚ Safa acting CEO Tebogo Motlanthe told the PSL that they were utterly surprised by the contents of their letter.
“The unilateral confirmation of training venues and the date for resumption of play on July 18 2020 by the NSL is against the spirit of our meeting and the resolutions of the joint liaison committee.
“Sadly‚ it also undermines minister Nathi Mthethwa’s directive that the association should play an overarching role in this matter.
“I wish to reiterate that two crucial factors we outlined in the meeting‚ namely‚ that we are committed to the resumption of play under safe conditions wherein the safety of players‚ team officials‚ match officials and other participants is not compromised.
“Second‚ that [in light of] the reasons outlined at the meeting and in the presentation I have since sent you‚ it is not practical to expect the resumption of play before August 1 2020.”
Motlanthe said administration‚ mobilisation‚ group training and conditioning of match officials could not be done with haste. — Additional reporting by TimesLIVE