Bright �puts his life on line� on Zebras job
Kabelo Boranabi | Tuesday July 11, 2017 14:57
The 61-year-old stood up and firmly shook the Botswana Football Association (BFA) president, Maclean Letshiwti’s hand and said: “Mr. Letshwiti, I swear on my life that I will serve the national team with due diligence. So God Help me,” sparking mumbles from the members of the press who attended his unveiling.
Bright was officially unveiled as the Zebras coach replacing Briton, Peter Butler who joined South African Premiership side Platinum Stars after failing to agree terms with the BFA. “This is a very big task; this is the national team. I need to take an oath for this. It is a norm in a relay to move forward.
We are taking the baton from the previous team and we would move forward,” Bright said. He further said his vision is to work with players and develop the talent in the country. He said his aim is to develop the national team players that will attract international market as the numbers of oversees based players has dropped significantly since the Zebras qualified for the AFCON finals in 2012.
“I think you know how we qualified for the AFCON. Our players were always behind the ball. We are going to see the bulk of players behind the ball and attack as a team,” Bright said on his technical approach, which suggests that the team will have a rather defensive approach as compared to Butler’s free flowing attacking play.
For his part, Letshwiti said the former Mogoditshane Fighters coach has all the ingredients to take the Zebras forward. He said the coach has all the relevant qualifications and experience the BFA wants in the national team coach, revealing that it was a deliberate decision by the BFA to go for a local coach. “Today marks a new beginning. We are here to build our national asset.
There was a deliberate decision to go for a local coach. If you look all around the world, local coaches lead all successful national teams hence why we settled for a local coach. We needed a man who could understand the transition we are in,” Letshwiti explained.
He further said Bright will report directly to the BFA president rather than the technical director, as it has been the norm. He revealed that the new technical team will set up a team ‘B’ that will complement the Zebras team A. He said the ‘B’ team will be as active as the team A.
Bright’s first assignment will be against nemesis South Africa on Saturday at the Francistown Sports Complex in the first leg of the preliminary round of CHAN qualifiers. “I do not have to come with excuses; we will have to perform on Saturday. That is our duty as coaches. We wouldn’t be coaches if we can’t prepare a team in the time given,” Bright said.