Thanda Royal coach to miss Sundowns clash
VLADISLAV Heric loves coming up against “the Real Madrid of SA”, as he refers to Mamelodi Sundowns.
However, the man who once beat the Brazilians twice in one week while in charge of Bay United in 2008, a result that led to the sacking of coach Trott Moloto, is not too excited about tomorrow evening’s Nedbank Cup last-32 encounter against Downs.
Heric was roped in by Thanda Royal Zulu three months ago in their bid to gain promotion from the National First Division to the Premier League this season, but the coach revealed yesterday he was still without a work permit. “Everybody loves playing against these guys, but it’s probably the worst time for us. I think this fixture has come a little bit too early,” the Serb said.
“I have been here for three months and the players are still adjusting to my system of play, that’s one thing. The other is if we lose, it will be two games in a row because we also lost to Vasco da Gama in a league match. “That just hurts the morale and I’d have to work on the mentality of the players to recover.”
Heric said that a giant-killing act at Loftus Stadium could also work against Thanda, who are third on the National First Division log and are five points behind leaders Golden Arrows with 12 matches to go.
“If we win, there’s a chance our players will be big-headed and my challenge will be to keep them grounded. So, both scenarios are tricky. But I have great memories against Sundowns; one of them was beating them twice with Bay United,” said Heric. He said he had to redouble his efforts in preparing the team for their trip to Loftus because he would not be in the dugout.
Assistant coach Asanda Mvalo, who is also registered as a player, will call the shots on match day. “I will not be able to guide my players — the worst thing to happen to a coach because you must take responsibility for the result, but you cannot fight for them,” Heric said.
Meanwhile, Moroka Swallows and University of Pretoria will square off only on Wednesday night at the Tuks Stadium. Former Swallow player Tebogo Monyai, now captain of AmaTuks, said he was determined to see his side add to the Dube Birds’ woes.