Baxter puts faith in Masango
Coach feels the player can deliver
STUART Baxter wants Mandla Masango – capable of great pace‚ skill and that bit of magic that makes a football forward a match-winner – to add “extra spark” to SuperSport United.
SuperSport might be the first to admit that their placing at the top of the Premier Soccer League by the Christmas and Africa Cup of Nations break, had a touch of fortune to it.
They had not always been convincing in all of their victories in a stirring run that had taken them there.
If there is one thing Baxter at club level in SA has shown himself capable of‚ it’s that his sides can grind out results not always looking overly convincing.
He did it winning two league and cup doubles with Kaizer Chiefs in 2012-13 and 2014-15 – where they went 19 games unbeaten.
SuperSport are 13 unbeaten to top the PSL standings with 25 points from 14 games. But Baxter did admit his side would probably need a lot more fluency to fend off the immense challenges to no doubt come form Bidvest Wits‚ Mamelodi Sundowns and perhaps even Chiefs under his old Bafana Bafana assistant and buddy‚ and successor at the club‚ Steve Komphela.
It’s no surprise the Englishman/Scot has turned to Masango to provide a spark to a frontline – even at the expense of mercurial but currently injury-plagued Togolese star Dove Wome – dominated by hardrunners such as Jeremy Brockie‚ Bradley Grobler‚ Kingston Nkhatha and Thuso Phala.
“We have a nicely settled squad right now and were not really looking to bring in anyone mid-season‚” said Baxter.
“But when the chance came to sign Mandla‚ I had the confidence of having worked with him before‚ so I know he will adapt quickly and hopefully add an extra spark as we compete on domestic and continental fronts.”
Masango‚ signed on loan‚ might not have played much in the past six months for Randers FC in Denmark‚ where his contract runs until June 2018.
But he did make an initial impression at the club – where he signed earning less than he had at Chiefs – before losing form‚ perhaps affected by the impression that he should be paid more given how he had started.
The 27-year-old Bafana Bafana winger raised eyebrows amidst a media storm for his manner in leaving Amakhosi – who were not meeting demands on a renewed contract. He fired his agent‚ Walter Mokoena‚ and stormed off to Denmark.
Headstrong‚ perhaps? Still foolishly young in how he handles off-field matters for someone now well into his 20s?
But Baxter got the best out of an until-then wayward Masango at Chiefs‚ whose career, having come through the development ranks, was on the skids – turning him into a match-winner and Bafana international.
Masango joins veterans Morgan Gould and Reneilwe Letsholonyane‚ playing like 20-year-olds again at SuperSport; and Tefu Mashamaite as among Baxter’s double-double winners to have followed the coach to Pretoria.
It will be fascinating to see how the reunion pans out at the always ambitious league leaders after a few years of PSL under-achievement for SuperSport.