Irate fans pile pressure on under-fire Drago
Lekopanye Mooketsi | Wednesday September 3, 2014 15:05
Fans are not thrilled by the narrow victory against the lightweights and slam the coach for taking too long to act when it was obvious that he should make substitutions in the match.
The supporters wanted the coach to pull out exhausted captain, Monageng Thaele, but Stanojlovic ignored the pleas. Striker Pako Modikwa seemed the preferred substitute, but the coach took his time before effecting changes.
Modikwa was introduced late to replace the injured veteran midfielder, Tshepo ‘Schoolboy’ Molefe. The coach kept new signing, Topo Piet on the bench and only brought him late in the match.
After the victory, the discussions centred on the coach’s approach with some fans saying he should be fired. They questioned why he was working without an assistant.
But there were others who were sympathetic to the Serbian coach.
They argued that he was being sabotaged by some players who did not want him.
“These people are our employees so they can’t dictate terms to us,” those sympathetic to the coach said.
Following a cash boost of P2 million, there was a general feeling that Gunners was going to contest for top honours this season, especially in the league. But they have only accumulated four points out of four games in the league.
Gunners’ chairman, Kitso Dlamini said they are aware that the supporters do not want the coach. “That one, we are very much aware of,” he said.
However, he said in as much as they regard supporters as key stakeholders, they have not taken a decision to fire the coach. Dlamini said the management is also not happy with the performance of the team.
But instead of pointing fingers he said, they should give the coach support. The Gunners official denied recent media reports saying the Lobatse side may recruit former Zimbabwean national coach, Sunday Chidzambwa (formerly Marimo).
Dlamini dismissed the reports and said that when a team is facing challenges, people make up stories. But he conceded that the team needs an assistant coach.