I am not under pressure - Keatlholetswe

CHIPPA LEGODIMO
Correspondent | Friday October 29, 2010 00:00

 

Keatlholetswe, the former Botswana Football Association (BFA) technical director is a highly qualified coach having won the league title thrice with BDF XI and the Coca-Cola Cup.

Keatlholetswe insists he has never been under pressure or panicked even when his troops were firing blanks.His appointment before the end of last season when he took over from Stanley Mwaanga was met with high expectations. His first task was to take the team to safety and he went beyond that and helped the army side to a sixth place finish.

'I was never under pressure. Why should I? I have coached this team before, I trust myself and I believe in myself. All along I knew there was no need to panic because I have a plan, which I will see through. I am building a strong team,' Keatlholetswe said after his team's 1-0 win against BMC at SSKB a fortnight ago.

Six boldly declared that his charges are gunning for the league title.

'I am competing for the league. I respect all the teams in this league and the fact that some sides like Township Rollers are currently doing very well. But I am not the one to say 'the league gone, we will try next time'. There are still 21 games to go and if there is anyone who already knows what will happen in those games he is lucky. As for us, we will make sure we compete until the last game and the 21 games will determine where we end,' the BDF XI mentor declared.

However, Keatlholetswe has admitted that while he has remained calm even under trying conditions, his players have shown some signs of anxiety and that he has been able to pacify them.

'In sports, we call it arousal, there are three stages of anxiety, that is under arousal, then normal arousal which is manageable and then over arousal which makes the athletes panic. So it is for me, as coach, to keep their level of arousal within a manageable level. I have to say there were times when my players were showing a lot of anxiety,' he said.

Keatloletswe highlighted that one of the reasons his team struggled at the beginning of the season was that he was trying a lot of young players.

He was happy when his young team overcame BMC. He noted that he chose to try different players at the early stages instead of introducing them at crucial times when the competition intensifies.

'It is safe to do that at this early stage and for me I am happy that it has helped me to have the required depth in the team. If these boys could go on like this in the absence of Mompati Thuma, Patrick Motsepe, Mokgathi Mokgathi and Kalid Niyonzima, then we are on the right track,' he said.

The coach explained that Motsepe was still nursing an injury while he decided to rest the other three players for last Friday's encounter against Rollers. BDF XI lost 3-2.

However, he denied that he left them out because he underrated BMC saying, 'like I said I respect all the teams in this league, besides all the players are BDF XI players, that they are not regulars does not mean they are not good enough otherwise we would not be keeping them'.

There has also been reports that Keatlholetswe chased Zebras' skipper Thuma after the defender failed to report for training some time last week but he denies this.

'Thuma was fatigued when he arrived from Equatorial Guinea with the national team, so we decided to give him a rest.'

Perhaps it is worth noting that like previous seasons, BDF XI have not been conceding too many goals thanks to a resilient defence as well as an organised midfield.

It is their strike force, which seems to be struggling just like last season. Goalkeeper Niyonzima told Mmegi Sport before the season started that he did not expect much to change because the team had stuck with virtually the same forwards and that their problem was never in defence.

Keatlholetswe concurred with the Burundian that his strikers lacked the killer instinct. 'Just look at the chances we created which we failed to convert against BMC. I am still working on my strikers but sometimes you can teach players how to score but if they do not have that natural instinct, you can only hope for the best.

Scoring goals is an art and my strikers just do not have that but I have some young players who are showing a lot of hunger,' he said.

The next two weeks will prove difficult for the former champions. They face Mochudi Centre Chiefs this weekend before taking on red-hot ECCO City Greens.