Buffaloes seek salvation in ex-coach

CHIPPA LEGODIMO
Correspondent | Friday July 23, 2010 00:00

Kooitsewe took Buffaloes to the Coca-Cola Cup quarter-finals three seasons ago and guided them to a fourth place finish in the league. But since his departure, the club's fortunes have dwindled. Last season, it was nearly relegated. Buffaloes were tied on points with Tlokweng United and only a superior goal difference saved them from the drop last season. Club spokesperson, Clement Modise, said they are keen to arrest the slide.

'We escaped by a whisker and we should make sure that it will never happen again. The past season was perhaps our worst in the last five years but at least we all know that our privatisation efforts took a strain on the team and now that we are a registered company, we hope we would be able to fully focus on making the team a competitive unit,' Modise said.

'There were many problems last season, one of them being that we changed coaches six times. We are now looking for a coach because we do not want to end in a similar situation. We have approached Moshe (Kooitsewe) for a possible return because even when he left us, we understood that work commitments were tying him and he could not be with the team full time. But he was a good coach and we still work with him,' he said.

Modise added that the management is negotiating with various companies and individuals in a bid to get financial assistance. He said that shortage of finance crippled the team last season as players lacked motivation. He said although the club had not registered new players, they are negotiating with a few targets. 'But we would not necessarily go for the so-called big name players because last season, we recruited six such players and only one of them befitted the team at the end. We prefer using mainly youngsters that we have been grooming and add a few experienced players,' he said.

Modise said the club has two promising youngsters who featured in the BISA Coca-Cola tournament. He acknowledged that with five former Premier League clubs campaigning in the First Division South next season, competition will be very stiff. He is optimistic about his team's chances of promotion. Only time will tell if the Kgatleng side will overcome the likes of Jwaneng Comets and Killer Giants.