Arrows’ ascent a sign of the times
LARSEN’S BOYS BEYOND MAKING UP NUMBERS South African football no longer a two-horse race as Durban-based side intensify ambitions following big result.
Having ousted African champions Mamelodi Sundowns to make the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup, Golden Arrows coach Clinton Larsen says he’s been trying to instill self-belief in his players’ minds of actually achieving something and not just making up numbers.
“We want them to be ambitious, we just don’t want them to make up numbers although there is a large group of inexperienced players.
“But we still want them to believe that they can achieve something,” Larsen explained.
“Slowly we are starting to see the change of mindset where they start to believe that we can go and take on any team in the country.”
The win over Downs came as a surprise to many, but the Arrows coach believes the standard of football in the country has escalated, whereby small team players are no longer scared of coming up against big team players, which adds to football’s spectator value.
“Gone are the days when players meet Kaizer Chiefs, Sundowns and Orlando Pirates players in the tunnel and they start shaking. They now relish these games because they want to prove that they are good players. We are always looking forward to playing against top teams now,” he added.
“I think the game has evolved, the league is no longer a two-horse race like it used to be in the past. It is very unpredictable at the moment and it makes for exciting South African football. Who would have thought that the SuperSport United and Baroka FC game could have gone that way?”
Arrows have been paired up against Platinum Stars in the lasteight of the Ke Yona Cup scheduled for April 22.