I understand Muhsin very well, says Isaacs
A NEW focus, unity, a new jersey, a few fresh faces and a few battle-hardened allies.
It seems like a really nice mix for Ajax Cape Town to approach the new Premiership season full of confidence. But there seems to be some concern that they might be a bit underdone heading into tomorrow afternoon’s league opener against Golden Arrows in Durban.
Ajax coach Muhsin Ertugral said yesterday that their pre-season had been a bit “bumpy”, as he would have probably liked a few more matches under the belt heading into an encounter with the unpredictable Arrows.
And that’s probably why he opted to bring back a few familiar faces before the start of the season to help steer the youngsters through the first couple of challenges, including their first home game against Orlando Pirates on August 20.
Ertugral brought back former players Nathan Paulse (striker), winger Franklin Cale and defender Dominic Isaacs over the last couple of weeks. And they will be mixed in with newly-promoted youth players Brandon Petersen, Matthew Rowell, Bantu Mzwakali, Michael Kwong and Tasreeq Morris, who were yesterday unveiled during the kit launch.
“The youngsters have adapted beautifully, and they are very enthusiastic,” Ertugral told the Cape Times yesterday. “But obviously I would have loved more games under the belt, to get the pass patterns going and the organisation under pressure.
“So what is happening at the moment, I am putting more verbal pressure on them to compensate to see if they can cope with it.”
Ertugral yesterday surprised many when he made an old favourite of his, Isaacs, captain for the forthcoming season. Experienced midfielder Lance Davids was supposedly the front-runner for the job, and his name was even down as captain on the squad list handed out yesterday.
But Isaacs says he is ready for the challange, especially as he doesn’t want a repeat of the Cape side’s previous league campaign. “I couldn’t shy away from this responsibility,” Isaacs said. “I am a senior player and I understand Muhsin very, very well. I understand what Ajax Cape Town stands for.”
New Ajax boss Ari Efstathiou is excited about the club’s prospects for the new season. Efstathiou and his brothers, bought out long-time bosses John and George Comitis to gain control of the club.
“The transformation has gone quite smoothly. Remember the structures at Ajax have always been good.
“So effectively all that has changed is that top management moved and top management came in.”