Cape Town — In light of Rhulani Mokwena's utterances at Wednesday's press conference, life must be unsettling for Mamelodi Sundowns' backroom staff.
Ahead of Friday's Premiership restart, coach Mokwena had decided to terminate the services of fitness coach Riedoh Berdien and assistant goalkeeper coach Marcus Mashilo. He added that more members will be shown the exit door in the coming weeks.
A media report which first broke the news ahead of Wednesday's press conference said the two members of the technical staff were "expelled". Mokwena was not happy with the use of the word "expelled" and shared his thoughts with the media.
"The choice of word is very important. 'Expelled' is a very strong word. I would refrain from using that word," said Mokwena.
"I'd say it's only normal in any football club that when a head coach is appointed, there are technical changes. It's only normal, and for sure, the club will make necessary announcements as we go, but to use the word expelled is a little bit extreme."
Mokwena revealed there will be more changes to the technical team in the coming weeks.
"The club has given me an opportunity, which I am extremely grateful for," said Mokwena.
"They've given me the support, and I wish to reward them and repay them. And part of that is to understand that I need a very strong team because I cannot do it alone.
"That means, in the interim, we will move in a direction that the club wants to move in because the club will always outlive me and be more important than me.
“Therefore, in due course, the club will make announcements about changes to the technical team.”
The league is about to resume with a flurry of action and no less than 12 matches will be played between Friday and Tuesday.
The league took an enforced break due to the World Cup when local players had to satisfy themselves with training, but no fixtures.
Defending champions Sundowns remain the standard bearers in first position, but with both Richards Bay and SuperSport United chasing hard all bets are off as to who will start hot this week.
Sundowns return on Friday in a huge fixture, hosting Orlando Pirates, while SuperSport host Marumo Gallants later in the day. Richards Bay, in turn, welcome Swallows FC to their home base on Saturday.
Other fixtures: Stellenbosch v Chippa United (Friday, 5.30pm); Cape Town City v Royal AM (Friday, 5.30pm); Maritzburg United v TS Galaxy (Friday, 7.30pm); Golden Arrows v Kaizer Chiefs (Saturday, 3.30pm); Sekhukhune United v AmaZulu (Saturday, 5.30pm); Royal AM v TS Galaxy (Tuesday, 7.30pm); Cape Town City v SuperSport United (Tuesday, 5pm); Mamelodi Sundowns v Swallows (Tuesday, 7.30pm); Sekhukhune United v Marumo Gallants (Tuesday, 7.30pm).
IOL Sport