- Mpote to be appointed as head coach
- JJ/Galenamotlhale set for exit
LETLHOGILE MPUANG
Orapa United have revealed that they have not begun the search of a new coach after parting ways with Zimbabwean gaffer Bongani Mafu last month. The Ostriches (as Orapa United is affectionately known) last month fired Mafu for what was reported to be a bad relationship between the employer and the employee.
Former Township Rollers Assistant Coach, Mogomotsi Mpote, who joined the side at the start of the season has since taken over as interim coach. This turn of events follows after this publication reported in August that there was a serious fall out between the two coaches as a result of power struggle in the dressing room.
Gazette Sport sources revealed then that, Mpote perceived himself better than Mafu and was the the more suited to lead the team. This was said to have divided even the dressing room, which proved too difficult to handle for the former Mochudi Centre Chiefs coach in Mafu. According to Orapa United’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Kabo Williams, the club have decided not to look for a new coach, but rather will entrust Mpote with responsibilities. Williams revealed this in an interview with Gazette Sport over the weekend.
“We do not have plans to get a new coach, there is simply no push to get a new coach at this point. We believe that Mpote has the right credentials to help us achieve our mandate of winning the league this season,” Williams told Gazette Sport.
“He was with the team at the start of the season, and we do not want to cause confusion within the team by bringing in a new coach at this time of the season. Mpote is a very experienced coach and he has the right qualifications to lead a team like Orapa United. To be honest, when we brought in Mpote, we had always expected that there would be some kind of power struggle between him and Mafu, but we told them, should it happen, both would be responsible and we would fire them both, but the fall out which is being reported, we were never aware of of it, maybe they had their issues outside the field of play. Mafu was fired for what we would say was failure to deliver certain things between the employer and employee, coaching ha e dirilwe sepantsola, (coaching can not be cheated),” he further stated.
In conclusion, he said that since Mafu’s exit they have received a number of applications for the head coaching role from as far as South America and Europe. “There has been a number of application that have come, but even before Mafu left, CVs were still coming from Argentina, Brazil and also Europe, but we have decided that we will not have look at them at the moment. We are still in discussion with Mpote for the same role since his current contract with us is as assistant coach, but in the meantime he will just continue as interim until we conclude our negotiations,” gave Williams.
Meanwhile, Gazette Sport have been informed that the club could be parting ways with former Mochudi Centre Chiefs stars Jerome Ramatlhakwane and Lesego Galenamotlhale when their contracts expire. “We have not begun any negotiations with JJ (Ramatlhakwane), we have not got any feedback from the technical team regarding his services. As for Galenamotlhale, he is currently injured and he is not registered for the season, he is likely to return next year, but if we were to be parting with him, we do not want him to leave in his current status, we want him to recover fully, and then make a decision on him, while he is fit,” the PRO explained. Ramatlhakwane’s contract is due to expire at the end of the current season, while Galenamotlhale will be out of contract in January 2020.