Da Costa, Galaxy in waiting game over new contract
Kabelo Boranabi | Thursday April 18, 2019 12:37
However, after an impressive eight months in charge at Galaxy, the two parties are yet to meet over a new contract.
The 37-year-old remains unbeaten in the league as he leads the log standings with 55 points, one ahead of holders, Township Rollers, with just four games remaining. Galaxy lost two games before da Costa sat on the technical bench. The Portuguese has impressed in his maiden season, guiding the Galaxy Stars to the Mascom Top 8 triumph, where along the way they conceded just a single goal while winning all the games in the competition. The youthful tactician’s displays have impressed both fans and pundits alike and he is regarded as the best coach in the league on current form.
With this kind of buzz around the coach, the fans in Jwaneng are crossing their fingers that he will stay for another season or more.
After the Mascom Top award ceremony, da Costa declined to speak about his future at the club saying he was awaiting for the end of the season. “It’s very premature to speak about it. I do not know if am going to be here or not.
My contract ends at the end of the season, I do not know what will happen because you cannot pick things just like that. You have to wait and see what’s the best choice. I respect the club, the same way they respect me, so anything that will happen they (club) will be the first to know,” he said.
“I am a very straight and honest guy and I will only want to speak at the end of the season where we can review and then make a decision. I would not speak about it (now) because of the timing. At the end, we will see what is going to happen, there are a lot of things happening at the moment; my heart and soul are with Jwaneng Galaxy until the last minute of the season.”
Contacted for comment, the club’s public relations officer, Tankiso Morake said the focus was on finishing the season and they were yet to engage the coach. “We still have the FA Cup and the league to compete for. But our hope is that the coach will stay with us for more seasons. At the moment we cannot say much,” he said.
The coach has been linked with the vacant Zebras job after the BFA indicated that they are looking for someone who has a CAF or UEFA Pro Licence with experience in both Africa and Europe. However, in a previous interview, da Costa denied any interest on the job. Reports are also that he could be heading to Rollers with the current coach Rodolfo Zapata’s contract coming to an end on May 30. Popa are reportedly not keen to renew the Argentine’s deal.