Teams fighting relegation in the firing line
THE mini-league at the tail end of the Absa Premiership table will attract a lot of attention.
No one wants to go down and it should be an interesting few weeks to see who has the nerves of steel to get through this testing period.
We look at the clubs in trouble and talk to their coaches ahead of some stressful weeks. The story: Kosta Papic’s relationship with chairman Johnny Mogaladi turned sour and in came Julio Leal, who knows what it takes to survive relegation having previously done so with AmaZulu.
The Brazilian has brought out the best in striker Thobani Mncwango and has secured important points which give them a strong chance of surviving. What Leal says: “In our past few games we want to collect at least three points. I think about 30 points is good. Fighting relegation is difficult. I was with AmaZulu in 2006 and it was complicated. Maybe we can finish 11th or 10th.” Prediction: They will survive. The story: They might regret the decision to hold on to former coach Sammy Troughton for too long.
With Troughton, Tuks were horrible to watch.
Goals dried up and schoolboy errors in defence were the norm. It was only in January that the club hired Shaun Bartlett and he’s given them a new lease on life. What Bartlett says: “It’s about what we can control. NEW LEASE ON LIFE: Shaun Bartlett has given his side a chance of survival ONE MORE YEAR PLEASE: Jomo Sono believes all his players need is experience
“I have already seen who is number 15 and 16. And we are not there.” The famous words of Jomo Sono, who ruled his side out of getting relegated. They have, however, struggled with just five wins in 26 matches. There’s been a heavy reliance on Charlton Mashumba for goals and he can’t do it alone. Inexperience has cost them dearly in many matches.
“Experience has let us down, nothing else. Give these kids one more year and they will be great, if we survive.
“We still have Tuks and Maritzburg coming to us, so we can call those games playoffs. If we can finish our chances, then we will get out of this.” Prediction: Playoffs.
Chairman Farook Kadodia should take a chunk of the blame for a disastrous campaign. They finished eighth last term but bad decisions have cost them this season.
Firing Mandla Ncikazi five games into the campaign was not necessary and the decision to bring in Clive Barker, and then deciding he’s too old for that kind of pressure, was ridiculous. They’ve conceded 50 goals, which is pathetic, but a recent victory against Free State Stars gives them hope.
“We have to watch what happens in the University of Pretoria vs Jomo Cosmos game on Sunday (today) because that result is very important to us now.
“I have no idea how many points we’ll need or we can get in the last games because we take it game by game. We still have to prepare for Orlando Pirates, but how we go about that will be determined by the Cosmos/Tuks game. We’ll try to get maximum points against Pirates.” Prediction: Automatic relegation.