Sharp end of Spear for league

MATATIELE Professionals are no more and the team playing in the ABC Motsepe League will now be known as the Spear of the Nation following their relocation to Mbizana.

Professionals’ management felt the distance from Matatiele was costing the team and needed to make some tough decisions for the good of the team.

“Running the club was becoming difficult and we would find that when players have problems we hear about those issues when they have already escalated.

“Besides everything this team is from Bizana, so we had to bring it back, and most importantly we will be able to deal with the team’s issues first-hand,” said Spear’s chairman Bonakele Duzane.

He said the welfare of players was important to management.

“Our players were suffering because we leave them at the clubhouse and make arrangements with other people to take care of them, but those people would not be honouring their end of the deals.

“Things like food and transport would be a problem, because you strike deals with people who don’t have a vested interest in the team and they would not come through as agreed.”

Spear has 32 players but they are planning to release some of them and to recruit more experienced individuals so as to have a chance to reach the National First Division playoffs.

“We have released one player, Siyavuya Ndlovu to the Kings who play at Mvela League in Durban.

“If you look at this region from Mthatha, we have never had any team playing at Mvela and we are planning to change that,” he said.

Spear finished at position seven, boasting 41 points last season.

“Last season we shot ourselves in the foot by giving up early, when we saw we were safe from the chop and we also wouldn’t win the league,” he said.

Duzane said the new kids on the block, Bizana Pondo Chiefs should not get any ideas but learn how things are in the upper-tier league.

“Chiefs is a solid team I’m telling you. They will be a tough competitor this season, but they have a lot to learn from us and they should make sure they bring their ‘A’ game when they play us.”

Spear has a new head coach who has been part of the technical team since last season and he is confident the mistakes the team made have taught them valuable lessons.

Spear coach, Bonisile Mthelo, said they were ready to rectify their mistakes in the new season.