Chilli Boys get behind upset coach

Whole team doing their best, captain says

CHIPPA United skipper James Okwuosa has responded to coach Dan “Dance” Malesela’s threat to leave the club by saying the players are doing their best to help the coach and the club to perform better this season.

“I think each and every player is doing their best to see that they perform their best for the club. The players are also doing their best to help the coach,” Okwuosa said.

This comes after the Chippa coach spoke about his disappointment with his players’ performance during their 3-2 loss to National First Division side Baroka FC in the Nedbank Cup on Sunday at East London’s Buffalo City Stadium.

Malesela even went as far as threatening to leave the club if the players did not want to take his instructions.

“I don’t know if I am angry or what but there are two things that must happen.

“Players [must] take instructions and use them on the field as we train, because it’s useless for us to be at training the whole week and not execute what we are suppose to here.

“The way we defend, you cannot be as pathetic as we were today,” Malesela said on Sunday.

“You start questioning a lot of things. Whether it’s a thing of loyalty or it’s a thing that happens only on a particular day is another story.

“If they do not want to be coached by me, fine. Let them find somebody who will coach them. That is my stance now.

“And if nothing happens from these players, I’ll probably be gone tomorrow. Not from the club, not from the owner, not from the chairman, but from myself.

“Because I am not going to embarrasses myself, and I will not take my reputation and take my dignity and lower it as far as I have today.

“It’s not good. I will not do that. This is not a reflection of what we do and what we train, everything that we train. It is the opposite.

“I do not want to rubbish my own players but really you have to look at yourself and say ‘Am I really honest with myself. Am I this player that I think I am’.”

Malesela said as a player you could not just play football without any ambitions or any dreams of winning something.

He said the Nedbank Cup was the only trophy he could safely say they had a chance to win.

Chippa communications officer Luthando Zibeko also backed the team’s captain and said the players and the entire management had the coach’s back.

Zibeko said Malesela was a perfectionist and someone who expected highly from himself and his players.

“Obviously, Sunday’s results did not go our way. We were all very disappointed with the performance.”

“We felt the Nedbank Cup was an opportunity for the coach to continue with his work developing the squad and the good vibe in the squad,” he said.

“The focus for us now is on the next game which is a very important game against Maritzburg United.

“We still have a chance to qualify for the top eight.

“We have seen the team developing since Melesela took over. We are making steady progress.

“There will always be hiccups on the journey but we are positive and we are going forward.”