Career goals and not money motivated move
ON SUNDAY he was a crowd favourite when Bloemfontein Celtic hosted Kaizer Chiefs in an Absa Premiership encounter at the Free State Stadium, but yesterday Frank Mhango, was kicking his heels at home after being locked out of the club’s training grounds.
The Malawian striker faces up to five months in the cold following his decision to sign a pre-contract with Bidvest Wits on Sunday evening, a move which angered Celtic chairman Max Tshabalala, who subsequently terminated Mhango’s contract. But the player sounded relaxed yesterday, claiming he would have agreed to pen a new deal at Celtic if he played football “for the money”. The 23-year-old will only join Wits, who have exhausted their foreign quota for this season, from July 1.
“I love it here in Bloemfontein, it’s a nice place and I love the club. But sometimes when you have to move, you have to move,” Mhango said. “I want to play in Europe and I think moving to Wits was the next step in my career. If I was doing what I do for the money, then I would have signed a new contract at Celtic because I had been talking to them for a while now.”
What the player sees as an advancement of his career, the Phunya Sele Sele owner labelled as “unprofessional” in a strongly worded statement on Monday night. The two have not seen or spoken to each other since Celtic’s 1-0 defeat to Chiefs at the weekend.
“I was told the chairman doesn’t want to see me and he said I should not come anywhere near the team,” said Mhango. “But I am not worried about my future. My agent (Mike Makaab) said he will make sure I find a club until I join Wits next season. There are a few teams interested in signing me for this short period. I have committed to four years at Wits, which should be a stepping stone to Europe. I believe as a young player that should be my target.”
Mhango, who has played a total of 46 league matches and scored 14 goals in his three years at Celtic, clearly does not regret his decision to search for greener pastures. But the club, however, might soon lament allowing him to leave while he is technically “servicing notice”.
Celtic have not won a match in nine outings dating back to September 27 when Clinton Larsen was coach. Serame Letsoaka replaced him in December following a five-game winless streak, but the new man is yet to register a victory in the three matches he has been in charge.
With Mhango re- from injury and giving Letsoaka options upfront, the club looked to be turning the tide. But Tshabalala is not budging. “We have done everything in our power to keep Mhango but we are left with no op- tion but to let him go with immediate effect because he will no longer be 100 percent committed. Our supporters must know we are vigorously searching for another prolific striker.”