Warriors ready to rumble
WARRIORS head coach Malibongwe Maketa says his team will be looking to build on the limited measure of success they achieved last season as the 2015-16 campaign approaches.
The Herald Youth team caught up with Maketa at St George’s Park to run the rule on last season and look ahead to what fans can expect to see come October.
Maketa said: “Going forward, I’d like us to build on the small good things we did in the previous season.
“This was playing for each other and putting the Warriors first, because the public will always judge us by winning competitions.”
The Warriors have not en- joyed trophy success since the 2009-10 season when they won the double, capturing the MTN40 and Standard Bank Pro20 titles.
Maketa had been in the Warriors system for a year prior to taking over as Piet Botha’s assistant coach. He is well aware of the pressure and public expectation to perform.
“It’s been a breath of fresh air in terms of the fact that now I’m playing a different role and being the guy who calls the shots is never easy,” Maketa said.
But, on the positive side, the Warriors finished the Momentum One-Day Cup on a high note, winning four out of five matches. That was not enough to get them into the playoffs.
There is still a resilient belief within the Warriors camp that they can do better.
The Warriors are recharging their batteries.
With some players having undergone surgery and being rested before the upcoming season, new players have been introduced to the squad, which has yet to be released.
The question on everybody’s lips is who the new sponsor will be after the withdrawal of Chevrolet.
“Chevrolet pulled the sponsorship because they wanted to focus more on football.
“As you may know now, they sponsor Manchester United, and I guess they had a better investment opportunity with them as opposed to us,” Maketa said.