Tshosane rules out immediate Zebras return
Mqondisi Dube | Friday June 16, 2017 17:01
Tshosane told Mmegi Sport this week that he has other pressing engagements to take up the Zebras job, although he remains open to assisting in a different capacity.
“At the moment, I am too busy. I have other engagements, but I am always available to give back to football,” Tshosane said.
The former BDF XI and Mogoditshane Fighters coach made history in 2012 when he broke a long standing jinx to take the Zebras to a first ever- and only- AFCON finals appearance. After it became apparent that the relationship between Butler and his employers, the Botswana Football Association (BFA), had broken down irretrievably, some took to social media to clamour for Tshosane’s return.
In qualifying for the 2012 finals in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, Tshosane had pushed his charges to some defiant wins over North African giants, Tunisia, as well as Togo and Chad.
Despite criticism that he employed an ultra defensive formation, Tshosane argued that the material at his disposal dictated the kind of football he played.
He was hounded out of office when there was a public outcry after the Zebras’ insipid performances in 2012, culminating in a 4-1 defeat to Bafana Bafana in Durban, which proved to be the final straw.
However, Tshosane’s name has cropped up amongst potential candidates as the BFA has to move swiftly to plug the gap created by Butler’s departure at the start of the 2019 AFCON qualifiers.
Tshosane sympathised with Butler, who at one point, went for six months without a game and constantly complained about boardroom issues interfering with his duties.
Successive Zebras coaches have faced familiar challenges with Butler being honest enough to tell authorities at Lekidi Centre that unless there is a mindset shift, progress will always be hampered.