Smiso Msomi
TS Galaxy head coach Sead Ramovic has expressed how he has set aside his personal ambitions for the benefit of the club and its progression.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina-born mentor first landed on South African soil in October of the 2021/22 season in the shiny colours of Galaxy and has gained a positive reputation for developing players and the club’s ambitions.
In the three seasons he has been at the helm, the Mpumalanga-based club has been on an upward trajectory having finished 14th in his debut campaign, 10th in his second and sixth last season and qualifying for the MTN8 in the process.
One of the most tactically clued-up coaches in domestic football at the moment, Ramovic has had to find a balance between the club’s sustainability plans that involve selling their best players every season while also seeking to win silverware.
His work at Galaxy has even gained traction on the continent as Moroccan giants Raja Casablanca came in for his services in the off-season alongside links to Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs as well.
Galaxy sold the likes of Melusi Buthelezi (Orlando Pirates), Given Msimango (Kaizer Chiefs), and Bathusi Aubaas (Mamelodi Sundowns) at the end of the 2022/23 season, clubs Ramovic has vowed to challenge in the past.
“You try to build the whole club and hope one day you may get a sponsor or two to help build a beautiful story.”
At the start of the current campaign, the Rockets also relinquished the services of five of their key players from last season as the likes of Fiacre Ntwari, Pogiso Sanoka, and Lehlohonolo Mojela were also sold.
Having opened the new campaign with a loss to Richards Bay with a team full of new faces, Ramovic was quizzed about whether his ambitions of one day winning the South African league remained despite the club’s policy.
He said although he still harbours ambitions of winning silverware, he has aligned his energy with the blossoming of Galaxy as a club.
“You have two options as a coach,” he said.
“You care more about your own career and you fight with your chairman by saying you want quality players, they have to invest and pay, or you have a great relationship, like I have (with Tim Sukazi).
“You try to build the whole club and hope one day you may get a sponsor or two to help build a beautiful story. This is what we do (at the moment) but it doesn’t change my own goals and ambitions to eventually win the league, because if I don’t have that desire then what’s the point of being a coach.”
Galaxy will have a break before their next clash with SuperSport United on September 25 as Ramovic tries to get his new recruits to adapt to his demands as a coach.