Drained Mpengesi chases Nedbank Cup success
● Chippa boss seeks to put Eymael saga behind him and focus on club’s future with Heric
The controversial saga around the appointment of Luc Eymael was a draining experience for Chippa United boss Siviwe Mpengesi, who said he was looking forward to restoring the club’s image with Vladislav Heric in charge.
Mpengesi has once again promised Heric a prolonged stay at the club if he wins the Nedbank Cup and also saves his team from the DStv Premiership relegation battle this season.
Mpengesi roped in the 54year-old Serbian coach as part of a desperate attempt to save his team from dropping out of SA’s elite ranks.
Since joining Chippa three weeks ago, Heric has managed to grind out seven points from a possible nine in the three matches he has been at the helm.
After two back-to-back wins in the league, the Gqeberhabased side are now preparing for their first Nedbank Cup final against TTM at the Bloemfontein Stadium on Saturday (6pm).
The victories have seen Chippa move from second bottom on the log to 14th spot.
“I must say after this Luc Eymael saga, I really don’t have the energy to be talking about coaches, we must talk about winning matches now,” Mpengesi said.
“Really, the Luc Eymael thing has drained me.
“I am honest here. It has drained me and I mean when I took the decision I said, ‘OK if I must be relegated let it be’, but for this season Heric is my last coach.
“If things stay the way they are now and if we survive, there is no choice but to go on with him as our coach next season.”
Heric is no stranger to the side.
In 2014, he guided Chippa to its promotion from the GladAfrica Championship into the elite ranks.
The former Bay United coach returned to the metro in 2018 to save the team from relegation.
He won the battle and led the club to a decent 10th-place finish and, as promised, continued with his duties as coach the following season.
However, he was sacked at the start of the 2019/2020 season and former coach Dan Malesela was announced as his successor.
Asked if he would stay on if presented with the opportunity, Heric said: “Why not, I am definitely open for discussion as you can see this is my third time back, so I am not the one who will deny a good opportunity.
“So I believe after all of this I will sit with the chairman and we will see what is the way forward.
“I am ready for the discussion and for taking over the team next season if that opportunity comes.”
Speaking about the cup final, Mpengesi said winning the trophy could be the catalyst for a turnaround in the league.
“This is an opportunity for us as a team to redeem ourselves and our image that has been affected due to a lot of negative things that have happened all these years.
“So I think the comeback in the last three games and winning the cup will really give the team confidence going forward. We do not want to be seen as a small team, I mean look at AmaZulu for instance.
“The players there are not getting better than our players get and these players at AmaZulu are not better than the players we have here.”
Yesterday, Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane paid the team a visit and wished them well ahead of the club’s historical day.
“Getting that cup will be a cherry on top, already for them to go as far as the final and eliminate as many teams as possible and now we are only left with two,” Mabuyane said.
“That tells you about the hard work that has been put into this.
“We are really looking forward to the day and we are quite optimistic that Chippa United is going to make us very proud.
“They are the pride of our province, soccer is our life in this province — this province loves soccer, cricket and rugby.”