The winds of change swept through Moroka Swallows as the club and Steve Komphela have opted for an amicable parting of ways, leaving the head coach position open.
Swallows announced the departure of Komphela on Monday evening, a move foreshadowed by the coach’s absence on the bench during the club’s DStv Premiership clash against Polokwane City FC on Saturday.
Komphela had taken the helm at Swallows seven months ago in a blaze of hope, promising to revive the club’s glory days. However, the harsh realities of the Dube Birds’ financial woes proved to be a formidable opponent.
“Moroka Swallows FC and Coach Steve have agreed to a mutual separation,” reads the club statement laced with respectful platitudes.
“This comes after several discussions between both parties, where it was ultimately agreed that it would be in the best interest of both the Club and Coach Steve to separate at this stage.”
Swallows Announce Departure of Head Coach Komphela
Swallows added: “There remains a mutual respect between both parties, and the decision to separate is one both parties have welcomed. The Club wishes Coach Steve all the best in his future endeavours, and we are grateful for the contributions he has made to the Club.
“Coach Steve has expressed gratitude to the Club and has wished us well.”
Issues faced by Komphela at Swallows have been the subject of much discussion since the coach revealed tensions surrounding a players’ strike following Swallows’ December clash against SuperSport United.
After that, the situation reportedly escalated, leading to Swallows’ inability to fulfil two fixtures against Komphela’s former team, Mamelodi Sundowns and Golden Arrows. Subsequently, the club dismissed 22 players and incurred an R1 million fine from the PSL DC But some of these players were later reinstated by the club.
On the other hand, Komphela expressed publicly that he was not informed by Swallows about the training schedule upon returning from the 2023 AFCON break.
“There are players that have been expelled and disciplinary hearings that I didn’t even know about. There were trials conducted. I didn’t know about them,” said Komphela on Radio 2000 prior to the resumption of the PSL season.
“I’m still waiting for communication from the office because after the games were cancelled in December, we were told that training should not resume till further notice.
“…I was called to Moroka Swallows to help. We were number four until we had these self-inflicted challenges.”
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