Bartman to hone keepers’ skills

NFD rookies Mthatha Bucks have roped in former Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Arthur Bartman as their goalkeeper coach on a one-year deal.

Bartman’s inclusion to the Mthatha side’s camp is one of the attempts the club’s management is embarking on to move out of the log basement.

Bucks are currently languishing at the bottom of the 16-team log table with two points from five outings while they are yet to win a game.

According to the club’s COO Lunga Tukute, the 43-year-old Bartman was recruited not only to assist on goalkeeping but to add value to the technical team as someone who has walked the talk for many years.

Last season doing the goalkeeper coaching job for Golden Arrows, Bartman was a member of the technical team that led the club to a promotion to the PSL but the new broom that came sweeping clean at the KZN side did not spare him.

Tukute said it has always been Bucks’ plan to have a man of Bartman’s calibre in their books.

“Mr Bartman will surely add value to the team because other than his duties with polishing the skills of our goalkeepers, he will surely assist with ideas as a member of the technical team,” said Tukute.

As for where the club is currently positioned on the log, Tukute said the management was doing everything in their power to save the sinking ship.

According to him, the string of poor results were a direct outcome of continuity that was interrupted by NFD’s unpopular U23 players policy.

“Look, our U23

from

last

season

no longer fall under that category and as such we had to recruit new players as their replacements.”

There was no gelling between young newcomers and the seniors in the squad – that was the main reason Bucks have not collected three points, said Tukute.

He continued that not having had a preseason might be another contributing factor to the poor performance.

This scribe put it to him that seventhplaced Mbombela United, who were also promoted together with Bucks without pre-season games, had recorded two victories already.

His response: “Mbombela United mostly remains the same team it was last season in terms of player personnel and we are not so continuity on our side was interrupted.”

Bucks are on the road this weekend to AmaZulu in Durban. —