Chippa coach Malesela dumped again
COACH Dan Malesela vowed last night that he would never return to Port Elizabeth after being fired by Chippa United for lack of recent performance.
Malesela confirmed he had been released from his contract, a day after his team suffered an embarrassing 3-1 home defeat against Baroka at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Tuesday night.
“It did not come as a shock to me as I was expecting it,” Malesela said.
“When you work here at this club, you expect anything.
“I don’t think I’ll be back in PE ever again, I don’t think I’ll do that.
“I will not degrade myself to that level. There are two things that happen – if you are a good person in a trying environment you will succeed, but if you are a bad person in a good environment you will not.”
The coach said he was disappointed, but fine with the club’s decision.
“It’s just three games into the season. There are 81 points to play for.
“I was discussing this with the players and saying, ‘look we have 81 points to play for, what do you think and what do you want to achieve?’ “I will never come back to this club. “I spent two years here and I am the first coach to stay that long.
“I am the first to have put the team in a semifinal of any sort.
“I am the first one to ever put this club in the top eight – and that says something.
“Being in PE comes with a lot of challenges because you have to counsel people, be a doctor, be a physiotherapist and be a psychologist.
“I am a designer. I designed this [club]. No club plays like Chippa.
“That is why people wanted to watch Chippa United.
“After the Baroka game, many people I met said to me, ‘Coach, irrespective of the result, the brand of football that we watch makes us [want] to come to the stadium’.”
A former Pirates captain, Malesela, 52, has endured a tumultuous relationship with the club.
He was placed on “special leave” towards the end of last season after a poor run of form, but was surprisingly recalled in mid-May, just more than two weeks after being sidelined.
He came back and managed to help the club retain its PSL status.
Malesela said he had put the past behind him and had been aiming for a better season this time around after finishing 13th last season.
The team were 10th on the log before last night’s round of PSL matches, having won only one of their three games so far and losing the other two.
It appears club owner Siviwe “Chippa” Mpengesi once again ran out of patience with Malesela.
It is not clear who will replace Malesela, but whoever comes in faces a tough examination when the team play their next game away to Platinum Stars on Saturday.
Chippa United chief operations officer Lukhanyo Mzinzi said he could not confirm Malesela’s departure until it was officially confirmed.