Richards Bay FC were crownded Glad Africa Champions. Photo: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix
Durban - DStv Premiership new-boys Richards Bay are currently hard at work in their pre-season camp as they gear up for the club's inaugural season in the top-flight.
The Natal Rich Boyz conquered all that was put before them in the GladAfrica Championship last season and gained promotion as champions of that league.
Following on from their performances and achievements of the previous campaign, club chairman Jomo Biyela promised to reward all individuals involved in attaining the club's top flight status.
The start of the new season has seen the arrival of numerous players and members of the technical team, most notably the appointment of Vasili Manousakis as the club's new technical advisor however Head Coach Pitso Dlaldla has praised the chairman for being a man of his word.
"The chairman has stood by his words because when we were campaigning in the GladAfrica Championship he kept on promising us that if we could take the club to the elite league than he would still keep us in our respective positions," he said.
"He just encouraged us to go out there and fight for our livelihoods and the same message was sent to the technical team that if we gained promotion we would get our chance to coach in the elite league. "
In a transfer window period that has seen more than 60 players released off their contracts at respective club's in both the DStv Premiership and Motsepe Foundation Championship, Richard's Bay have opted for the opposite, bolstering their squad with top flight experience.
The KwaZulu-Natal based club announced the arrival of 12 players during the course of this month and just five of them from DStv Premiership teams.
The likes of Abel Mabaso, Nkanyiso Zungu, Michael Gumede and Sibusiso Mthethwa from Stellenbosch with for part of the Natal Rich Boyz squad in the coming season.
Dlaldla has explained the recruitment process undertaken by the club which is influenced by the expectations they have of themselves in the upcoming season.
"We aren't gonna have an issue in terms of getting the squad to gel because majority of the players we've brought in are from teams in the second division so they know each other, the only combinations we need to work out are those coming in from DStv Premiership teams," he said.
"We identified specific areas in our team that needed strengthening and we got players that fit those profiles. For example we don't plan to tamper too much with our defence but in midfield we have brought Abel Mabaso because I think we needed that type of player. "
Richard's Bay will take part in both the Legacy Cup and the KZN Premier's Cup pre-season tournaments as they look to sharpen their men for what is expected to be a difficult season ahead.
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