Serame says he’s fully behind Gordon

BAFANA Bafana assistant coach Serame Letsoaka has dismissed claims he desperately wants to quit the national team and says “jealous people” who covet his job are working tirelessly to ruin his relationship with his boss Gordon Igesund.

Insiders told The Sunday Times that Letsoaka does not see eye to eye with Igesund and the Bafana assistant feels that his contribution to the national cause over the past few months has been downplayed while the head coach is allowed to claim all the credit for the team’s seeming resuscitation.

A shocked Letsoaka pointed an accusing finger at green-eyed detractors he believes are upset that the SA Football Association (Safa) did not fire him along with Igesund after Bafana failed to get to the final qualifying round of the 2014 Fifa World Cup last month.

Letsoaka said Bafana fellow assistant coach Thomas Madigage — who died in a horrific car accident in Limpopo in October last year — warned after they were asked by Safa

When people see that things are going very well, they try to come up with stories to divide the national team

to take over the coaching reins of the national team in July last year that their relationship would face many tests.

“Tommy told me there would be people who would try to drive a wedge between us. I cannot believe it is already happening just as he predicted,” said Letsoaka.

“There are a lot of people who want this job and the fact that the mandate to qualify for the 2014World Cup was not reached made them very happy. They thought we would be fired. People are jealous of the relationship I have with the coach.”

Letsoaka said Igesund would have been the first to know if he felt undermined by the national team coach and wanted to abandon ship.

“We have a very good working relationship and what would be my reason for being unhappy with the coach? When people see that things are going very well, they try to come up with stories to divide the team.”

Igesund said Letsoaka’s supposed unhappiness was news to him and had never voiced a desire to leave.

“I am with Serame every single day and he has never mentioned anything about being unhappy,” Igesund said.

“He discusses everything with me and he has never said anything of the sort.

“We are very open with each other and we always discuss issues.”