Having suffered eight consecutive defeats, Golden Arrows head coach Mabhuti Khenyeza has explained why he ‘embraces’ his side’s poor run of form.
Arrows were flying high in the first four months of the 2023/24 season, sweeping almost everything in front of them.
They picked seven wins in their first ten matches of the DStv Premiership which saw them occupy the second position for some time behind the league champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
Their losing streak began with a Carling Knockout Cup defeat to AmaZulu in November and they went on to be beaten seven times in the league.
Khenyeza says he’s glad this is happening while he’s in the early stages of his career rather than later. He believes there are many lessons he’s grasped that will come into play later in his coaching journey.
KHENYEZA SAYS HE’S GRASPING LESSONS FROM ARROWS’ LOSING RUN
“This is the only way to gain experience because where can you buy experience in football?,” asked Khenyeza.
“The situations like these are the ones that give you experience as a player and as a coach. If you can look at other top coaches even abroad, they had many experiences early in their careers.
“They didn’t just become top coaches [overnight]. Everyone talks about Pep Guardiola. Just go back now and look at how he started at Barcelona, I think he lost about six games in a row.
“Others know him only now as he’s winning. What I’m trying to say is, we embrace the situation like this, from me to the players. This experience will build me as a young coach and other players who are young because whenever we get successful and we will look back, we’ll be happy.
“You only have 48 hours to think about what happened in the game, whether you won or you didn’t. So, now the problem starts when you dwell in a game you lost.
“I do get angry but when the game is finished, it’s finished. I need to be positive, I need to think again what we must do to help the situation.”
Arrows will be hoping to bounce back to winning ways when they host TS Galaxy in the Nedbank Cup on Friday. The match takes place at Mpumalanga Stadium with kick-off set for 7:00 pm.
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