Chippa United coach Clinton Larsen has given praise to the team’s previous coaches for laying a good foundation that has contributed to the Chilli Boys’ revival.
The Port Elizabeth side seem to have turned the corner as they have been unbeaten in five matches, after previously struggling to gain a victory in 11 games, since Larsen took over as coach.
Their good run has also seen the Chilli Boys move away from second-bottom on the Absa Premiership log to 13th place, with 19 points from 20 games.
Chippa also managed to book themselves a spot in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinals, after beating National First Division side Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila 2-0 on Saturday at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
However, Larsen refuses to take all the credit for the team’s success.
“We still have a long way to go,” the former Bafana Bafana player said.
“There have been so many coaches doing things differently in the past.
“I have to be very tactful on how I approach this – I can’t change too much too soon.
“But I must also give the previous coaches credit because there was a foundation from which I could work.
“So coaches like Joel Masutha, Eric Tinkler, Dan “Dance” Malesela and Teboho Moloi have all contributed somehow to the team.
“Yes, maybe we are getting the results now, but what I am saying is basically there was something for me to work from. There was a bit of structure within the team.”
Larsen said it was good to keep the winning momentum going within the squad, but said the team still had a long way to go.
“The momentum I am talking about is trying to get the players to better understand my philosophy, my training methodology, the implementation of my tactics – and I think slowly but surely we are getting there.
“I have changed a few things and it has worked, but like I said, we still have a long way to go to compete with the likes of Cape Town City, Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates because they have set the bar very high.
“We are going to try to catch them up,” he said.
The Chilli Boys’ next league fixture is against Golden Arrows on Friday at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (8pm).