Stars bosses in panic as team looks set to be demoted
THE red lights are beginning to flash at Free State Stars, who are now in serious danger of being relegated from the Premier Soccer League.
The situation went from bad to worse when they were bundled out of the Nedbank Cup Last-32 stage after losing 1-0 to National First Division side Witbank Spurs at the weekend.
Caretaker coach Themba Sithole and his assistant Kinnah Phiri are under tremendous pressure to start delivering or be redeployed.
Sithole was appointed caretaker coach in November after Steve Komphela and the club ’ s bosses parted company – a day after Kaizer Chiefs beat them 2-0.
Since Sithole was promoted to be in charge of the technical team, the side has collected four points from six Premiership matches.
In that period, Ea Lla Koto have only been able to get points by beating fellow strugglers Lamontville Golden Arrows 2-1 and drawing 2-2 with Moroka Swallows.
In the other games, Stars lost 1-0 to Platinum Stars, were defeated 2-0 by neighbours Bloemfontein Celtic, 1-0 by Mpumalanga Black Aces and 3-1 by University of Pretoria.
Stars chairman Mike Mokoena and general manager Rantsi Mokoena were locked in a meeting yesterday discussing the performance of the team.
Team manager Kotso Mokoena could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Phiri – who has been with Stars for more than 20 years (first as a player) – was also not available for comment.
The Mokoenas have been consis- tently urging their supporters to remain calm, saying they have confidence in Sithole to take the club out of the quagmire.
One of the club ’ s top players, Luyolo Nomandela – who will be joining Mamelodi Sundowns in the new season – is adamant they will bounce back.
“It is always bad to lose. We had a meeting as players and we need to start winning. We are not used to fighting for survival in the PSL, Stars are always in the top-eight bracket,” Nomandela said.
“Our big challenge has been up front, we need to polish our finishing. It ’ s getting a bit late. We want to assure our supporters that Stars are going nowhere.”