Ertugral keeping the faith
Surprise title contenders Black Aces’ players have the coach’s full backing
WHAT do the Mpumalanga Black Aces owners think of selling the club’s Premier Soccer League status now?
It is the elephant in the room with every passing game, especially considering their recent results, which have lifted them all the way up to third-place (only goal difference separates Aces and second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns) after 13 Absa Premiership matches.
If brothers George and Mario Morfou had their way in July and sold the team for a reported R83-million to AmaZulu, who were desperately trying to buy their way back into the topflight following relegation last season, there wouldn’t be any talk of Aces as a dark horse in the title race.
“They were under a lot of pressure every year,” said coach Muhsin Ertugral,
pictured, as he sympathised with his bosses yesterday. “When I arrived, I had to tell them to get rid of so many players to reduce the squad and try make things easier. They are pleading with me now to add to our 23 in the January transfer window, but I said no. You often have coaches, not management, asking for players in football. That shows their unwavering support for me.”
Ertugral is the first to admit that his men have punched above their weight so far in this campaign, so much so that they could be in pole position by 10pm on Friday. It would be extremely difficult to cool down championship ambitions then, the coach said.
Aces travel to log leaders Bidvest Wits tomorrow night, and an upset in that match will blow the title race wide open, with a few more contenders scheduled to play throughout the weekend. “I don’t want to hear of the dark horse of the light horse,” Ertugral jokes. “Yes, I can’t stand in front of you and deny that I want to win the league. But how long we can sustain this run? My players have been fantastic and they show me more every day. As a coach, I have merely been a servant. The schedule is very demanding, and that is why I said we are skating on thin ice because we have a small squad, but I still refuse to get in more players because these guys deserve credit for what they have achieved so far.”
The former Kaizer Chiefs coach reveals that he would make Amakhosi striker Bernard Parker his priority signing if he was forced to strengthen his squad. “But I know it would be impossible to bring him here. We can’t compete with clubs that have the financial muscle, even though some of them don’t know how to use that muscle. So, I have rather identified five foreign players, but we will see if we get one or two players in because I am still very reluctant.” He said the game against Wits, coached by a dear friend of his in Gavin Hunt, would be a true test for Aces. “I admire Gavin’s work. Their organisation, along with the players’ individual brilliance, has really worked for them up to now. People might say they like long balls and that sort of stuff, but they play proper football as far as I’m concerned,” Ertugral explained.
“I told my boys that, for me, this is our first real test this season. We have been lucky in some games, like when we got a point away to Orlando Pirates (in September). But we also lost points where we shouldn’t have.”
Ertugral hasn’t seen any signs that his players will waver under pressure should they topple Wits tomorrow night. “Being the hunted instead of the hunter is more difficult. But I have confidence in my players and we will work extremely hard to take the pressure off them if that happens,” the coach said.