Larsen adds more speed at Chippa ahead of Maritzburg game

Chilli Boys coach wants to have a tighter defence to avoid conceding goals

BIG GAME: Chippa United coach Clinton Larsen looks to tighten up defence ahead of their Absa Premiership fixture against Maritzburg United, at Nelson Mandela Stadium on Saturday.
BIG GAME: Chippa United coach Clinton Larsen looks to tighten up defence ahead of their Absa Premiership fixture against Maritzburg United, at Nelson Mandela Stadium on Saturday.
Image: Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images

Chippa United coach Clinton Larsen is looking to add more speed to the  Chilli Boys style of play  ahead of their Absa Premiership game against Maritzburg United, at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, on Saturday (3.30pm).

“Chippa already has its identity and I am not here to change that. I do believe that they have the players to play a particular brand of football which is possession based, but I would like to add the speed factor into our play, something I felt was missing,” Larsen said.

“We do have the ability to be more punitive as a team and I don’t think that’s the case. So, I do not want to be a one dimensional team. I want us to be versatile and have different types of attacks.”

Larsen was roped in by club boss Siviwe “Chippa” Mpengesi in an attempt to save the club from relegation after firing Joel Masutha last week.

Chippa are lying second from the bottom of the log with 12 points from 17 matches.

The former Bafana Bafana player, who parted ways with Golden Arrows in December,  is confident that with his coaching style and management he will be able to save the Chilli Boys from dropping out of the league.

Larsen said in the past the Port Elizabeth based soccer side put more focus on the ball possession side of the game and  neglected other areas.

We have neglected the ability to put good crosses in, and the ability to break with pace  when opportunities present  themselves
Chippa United coach, Clinton Larsen 

“We have neglected the ability to put good crosses in, the ability to break with pace  when opportunities present  themselves and are reluctant to shoot as well. This  is something that I have noticed.

“So, we want to combine all these elements and try and get the team holistically better and I do believe the players have the ability to do the things I will be asking them to do,” the coach said.

Apart from intensifying the speed on  the field  Larsen is also working on having a tighter back-line to avoid conceding too many goals.

“For me, from the outside looking in, I noticed the defence structure was lacking, but that is not to say that it is  any of the coaches fault.

“However, just from the outside looking in, they conceded a lot of goals as a result of players being out of position and players not being able to defend the box properly. Those are the things I will try to work on.

“I am sure other coaches have worked on that, but I have my way of doing things.

“Hopefully it will be good enough to stop conceding goals because, if you want to win football matches you have to start being strong in defence and start to keep clean sheets and that has not been the case,” said the former Bloemfontein Celtic mentor.

Larsen said he was happy with the attacking quality at his disposal with  Lerato and Rhulani Manzini.

He said players like Mark  Mayambela, Kurt  Lenjties, Thabo Rakhale, Ruzaigh Gamildien,  Daine Klate and Tebogo Makobela are all offensive players that can win  games.

 “But, in the same breath we also want more balance in the team in terms of defensive structure. In terms of players understanding their role out of position.

“There are things that I have seen that we have already started working on. But Rome was not built in one day so every day is a work in progress.

“However, I am happy to see that in the past four days the players have started to adapt to my demands and that’s a positive.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

subscribe

Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.