Swallows ready for 2012 glory
Coach squeezes team for the ultimate
AFTER squeezing every ounce of energy from his mature and relatively small squad, Gordon Igesund will ask them to go the extra mile once more if they are to complete the outrageous turnaround from relegation candidates a season ago to champions this year.
The Moroka Swallows coach is seeking his fifth Premier Soccer League title, the club’s first since 1965, as the Absa Premiership closes its curtains on Saturday.
Igesund often pointed out at the start of the season that he did not have as much depth as fellow title challengers – Orlando Pirates, Supersport United, Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs – to win the championship.
But now that the Dube Birds are second on the log, two points behind defending champions Pirates, Igesund is prepared to “squeeze the orange until there is nothing left”.
The coach used that analogy because he believes he has already asked a lot of his men – some of them rejects from Pirates, Chiefs and Sundowns – and that a top three finish is already “historic” for a team that escaped relegation on the last day of the previous campaign.
But with a historic fifth championship with a fifth club beckoning for him, and the old adage that runnersup are the first losers, Igesund is prepared to make yet another plan for maximum points this week.
Fate is not in Swallows’ hands, though, with Pirates needing just a win to successfully keep the trophy in their cabinet for another season.
If the Buccaneers are beaten or draw against Lamontville Golden Arrows at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, the Dube Birds can be crowned champions if they win away to Maritzburg United at the Harry Gwala Stadium.
“I’ve got to keep them going. This season I have squeezed every ounce of anything I can get out of this team,” said Igesund. “I have got this team to the level where you squeeze an orange and nothing comes out anymore. We’ve had a fantastic season, scored the most goals (47) in the league, and we have gone 12 games unbeaten this year.
“I don’t think I have to say too much, they just need to keep doing what they have been doing.”
The coach said the players were aware they could have gone top of the standings when, at halftime during their match against Platinum Stars at the weekend, they heard Pirates were trailing 1-0 to Bloemfontein Celtic.
“They have come to realise that at this stage of the season, your best chance at anything is winning all the games. We have got to go for it,” said Igesund, who saw his 10-men team scrape to a 2-1 win over Platinum Stars on Saturday.
With both Swallows and Pirates faced with tough encounters on the last day of the season, Igesund will seek comfort in the Buccaneers’ poor record away from home.
They have come to realise that at this stage of the season, your best chance at anything is winning all the games. We have got to go for it