You fail, you are out – Rollers warns Zapata

  • Reach CCL quarter finals
  • Win league and cup double

LETLHOGILE MPUANG

Township Rollers have warned their new Argentine coach Rodolfo Zapata that failure to meet the club’s set objectives this season will lead to serious measures taken against him and possibly shown the exit door. The 2017/18 BTC Premiership champions begin their CAF Champions League campaign today (Tuesday) against Lesotho outfit Bantu FC at the National Stadium.

Last season Rollers became the first local team to reach the group stages of the Champions League, and bowed out of the tournament with heads high with four points in a group that included the eventual winners Esperance and runners up Al Ahly. Rollers will look to replicate last season’s exploits, but with a new man at the helm. Former Gaborone United coach Rudolf Zapata has replaced Serbian gaffer Nikola Kavazovic. The club’s Spokesperson Bafana Pheto revealed that the new coach is very aware of his mandate.

“We are prepared (for the CCL). We know what to expect, and we are quiet aware of the challenges. Our aim is go to beyond where we finished last season. We left the tournament with an impressive record, especially here at home, and it really shows the kind of quality we have as a club,” Pheto told Gazette Sport.

“He (Zapata) understands what we want to achieve, we have made it clear to him. We want win the Mascom Top 8 and the league and reach quarter finals of the Champions League, which we think is very attainable. It is the same thing with Nikola, we told him what our expectations were way before we understood what type of coach he was, Zapata will also have to do the same and hit the ground running. Obviously if he fails to achieve what we have set ourselves, we will have to call him and discuss the way forward, but in most cases we never fire coaches, they leave voluntarily,” added the Rollers mouthpiece.

When asked about any knowledge on their first round opponents, Pheto assured that the technical had done it’s homework on the Lesotho based outfit. “We are more than confident for this game, the team is in great shape, the technical team has done their assignment of Bantu FC. We have studied them well and we are very aware that they are a team able of causing surprises. In one of their last matches against Mbabane Swallows they beat them both home and away, and that just shows that they are a team we cannot take lightly,” he continued. Pheto also stressed that it is important that Rollers begin their CAF campaign with a victory,especially at home before going to Lesotho to wrap the tie up. He says a win at home will go a long way in boosting the team’s morale as they aim to progress to the next stages of the tournament.