Nthaga hopes to break 'curse' with Fighters

Over the weekend Nthaga guided Fighters into the elite league promotion with a win over Nico United. The initial agreement between the coach and the club ended over the last weekend. Nthaga joined Samba Boys in January, initially as a technical director but was given the head coach role following the departure of then-coach Tiroyaone 'TRX' Mohambi in early February. 'Machine' was given a clear mandate to help the team gain promotion back into the elite league.

He achieved the feat on Saturday afternoon as his side beat Nico United 1-0 in the second leg of the promotional playoffs. The team won the two-legged tie 1-0 after they were held to a 0-0 draw in Selebi-Phikwe, as Fighters ended a seven-year stay in the second-tier league. "The agreement was that I will be with them for this season, until the end of the season to help them achieve promotion. So now we will have to sit down and talk and take it from there," Nthaga briefly told Mmegi Sport after the weekend's triumph. Fighters have become the fourth team, Machine has promoted in the last 10 years. The gaffer has been living in a packed bag whenever he got a promotion into the elite league.