Cape Town - As the Premiership season wound to the end of 2022, the coaching revolving door turned slowly but surely as the season moved towards the halfway mark.
In some cases, with coaches like Brandon Truter, Romain Folz and Dan ‘Dance’ Malesela, it was bittersweet moments in their coaching careers because they landed new appointments after being shown the exit door earlier.
Chippa United’s Daine Klate started the season’s merry-go-round when he made way for Morgan Mammila.
The latter is confident he’ll survive the chop there, irrespective of results, despite Chippa chairman Siviwe ‘Chippa’ Mpengesi being notorious for firing coaches at the drop of a hat.
At Maritzburg United, Fadlu Davids returned from Russia to replace John Maduka, who had earlier surprised by leaving Royal AM.
Marumo Gallants parted with Romain Folz and appointed Malesela.
In KwaZulu-Natal, AmaZulu sent Truter packing, but a few weeks later he joined Sekhukhune United, who had earlier dismissed Kaitano Tembo for poor results.
Towards the end of the year, Swallows FC appointed German Ernst Middendorp after sacking Dylan Kerr.
After 10 days of 2023, the Premiership coaching revolving door is at a standstill.
However, speculation is rife, and judging by the noises on social media, Jose Riveiro and Folz could soon be shown the exit door, unless there is a dramatic change in fortunes.
Spaniard Riveiro appears to have bitten off more than he can chew at Orlando Pirates.
They have lost three Premiership games on the trot, and just when he thought that Pirates were world beaters after guiding the team to MTN8 cup wins over Mamelodi Sundowns and AmaZulu, the team lost their way in the league.
Pirates last won a Premiership match in mid-October, and Riveiro is under severe pressure.
“We scored goals in the MTN8 games in the second half. Against Royal AM we scored and two times against Mamelodi Sundowns,” Riveiro said.
“But for some reason, in the league it was impossible. We hit the post, and often we made the opposition goalkeeper the superstar every time we played.
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“No, I can’t, obviously I can’t explain it (why we can’t score in the Premiership).
“The level in the (PSL) league is not bad. You know, everybody can dominate you during periods, and other games we just couldn’t score.”
Folz had admitted he was feeling the pressure, but it has not been unsettling for him.
“There is always pressure in every game you play, and if I look at the log, we are not where we want to be,” said Folz.
“But we are not far away as well, so we will be back. There are many things that we need to fix to get better, but I think we will get better.”
Two other coaches – Arthur Zwane at Kaizer Chiefs and Eric Tinkler at Cape Town City – will need results to go their way in the next few days, otherwise they could well pip Riveiro and Folz to the revolving exit door.
@Herman_Gibbs