Lehlohonolo Seema, the new head coach of Sekhukhune United, will have a baptism of fire when he starts his tenure in Morocco on Sunday.
Sekhukhune will open their CAF Confederation Cup Group D campaign against RSB Berkane at the Stade Municipal de Berkane on Sunday evening.
“There is a lot ahead of us, and therefore I have to hit the ground running,” said Seema, who previously coached PSL clubs such as Polokwane City FC, Lamontville Golden Arrows, Chippa United, Black Leopards, and Bloemfontein Celtic over a period of five seasons.
“I do not wish to make any promises except to offer my work ethic and dedication to the club and its supporters.”
Seema replaces Brandon “Brakkies” Truter, who guided Sekhukhune to the Nedbank Cup final and a commendable seventhplace finish in the DStv Premiership last season.
As a player, Seema made his mark in local football after arriving in the country to join Bloemfontein Celtic and later Black Aces, as well as Orlando Pirates, whom he captained during his five-season stay there.
Sekhukhune made the change because of the club’s poor run in the DStv Premiership this season. After 12 matches, they are in a lowly 12th place after winning four matches, drawing two and losing six.
Sunday’s match against Berkane will pose a formidable challenge because the Moroccans are in terrific form this season. They compete in the elite Botola Pro 1 league that includes African heavyweights such as Wydad AC and Raja Club Athletic.
They have already beaten Wydad this season and are undefeated after nine games and in second place behind AS FAR, who are past CAF Champions League and Federation Cup winners.
McDonald Makhubedu, who took the reins after Truter was shown the exit door, will return to his position as an assistant coach. Makhubedu
managed to steer the team to a 2-1 victory over SuperSport United in one of the two games when he was at the helm.
IOL Sport