Davids to take charge as De Sa picks family over club
THE coaching roller-coaster took another twist with Maritzburg United and Roger de Sa parting ways less than three months after their union.
According to a statement released by the Midlands club, De Sa handed in his resignation on Wednesday, citing family commitments in Cape Town as his reason for leaving.
It follows recent shake-ups at Baroka FC, and Polokwane City where Belgian trainer Luc Eymael also resigned for personal reasons, before applying for a position at Bloemfontein Celtic.
This was De Sa’s second resignation of the campaign after he stepped down from Ajax Cape Town in October following a winless start in the league with the Urban Warriors.
His track record at Maritzburg was disappointing as well, with one win and one draw in six Absa Premiership matches. Maritzburg also bombed out of the Nedbank Cup in their first game of the competition, which killed the club’s aspirations of reaching at least one cup final.
“The coach informed me that he had to go back to Cape Town to attend to family commitments, and I had to respect that. He was with us for only seven weeks, but I thank him for the time he spent here and I wish him well for the future. Fadlu (Davids) will take over the reins supported by the existing technical team until the end of the season,” said Maritzburg chairman Farook Kadodia.
It means the Team of Choice will revert to assistant coach Davids as caretaker coach for the second time this term. The former Maritzburg striker took charge briefly late last year when Ernst Middendorp resigned in November, and handed the reins to De Sa upon his arrival in January before the start of the second half of the season.
Under De Sa’s watch Maritzburg dropped out of the top eight to 10th position, which threatens their ambition of securing at least a top eight finish. When the season began the club targeted a strong top eight berth, and one cup final appearance. The exit from the Nedbank Cup at the first hurdle put paid to that hope as well.
In their last three outings Maritzburg lost away to relegation-threatened Highlands Park and were second best to neighbours Golden Arrows in league and cup games.
Coincidentally Maritzburg tackle De Sa’s last club, Ajax, when they host the Cape side upon the resumption of the league on April 1, following the current Fifa international break. Another negative result in that match will see Maritzburg swap places with Ajax, who are one point and two positions below them.