Instability rocks Comets

CHIPPA LEGODIMO
Correspondent | Wednesday October 13, 2010 00:00

Recently, Comets fired defender Thabiso Lekesi and suspended Orabile Tau. The players had reportedly protested to the management over poor living conditions at the club's premises where they are housed in porta-cabins. Comets' players boycotted training last Thursday and this led to the management taking punitive measures.

A player who spoke on condition of anonymity said they agreed to write a letter to the management, demanding the resignation of the committee. But before the letter got to the management, some players leaked the information to the club bosses.

'We did not train on Thursday and we wanted to boycott the Mogoditshane Fighters game so that the management would start listening to us but while we were strategising, some of our colleagues went behind our backs and betrayed us and afterwards we found our porta-cabins locked. They only came to open for us at around 9pm on Thursday,' he said.

The player said that they have complained to the management for long that the cabins were not good for accommodation but they were ignored. Last year, some players lost their valuables when the cabins caught fire.

'Just imagine there is no water in that place, the conditions are really bad and we have been patient. We have been surprised by the kind of arrogance that our management has displayed. Instead of talking to us, they rushed to fire and suspend players because they believed they were a bad influence. We still want to know why our team-mates have been treated like that,' the player said.

The players reportedly returned to training after threats from management and were ready to face Mogoditshane Fighters in a league match on Saturday.

'You know players are easily intimidated; even an idle threat makes them change their minds but that does not mean we are fine with the conditions now. We want to focus on helping the team win promotion instead of worrying about what we would eat when we return from training,' he said.

Comets' chairman, Njabulo Gilika, claimed ignorance when asked about the situation at the club. His deputy, Bagio Mokgadi, has denied that there are problems at the club.

'It is the usual issue of needing food or money to travel. It is nothing serious,' he said. He added that he was unaware of players boycotting training or being locked out of their cabins