Stellenbosch FC CEO Rob Benadie has sent a strong message to the “so-called big clubs” ahead of the June transfer window.
Over the years Stellies have been beheld as a selling club, despite that, they have been consistent under the tutelage of Steve barker in recent seasons.
They made history in December winning the Carling Knockout Cup, beating TS Galaxy on penalties at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
According to Benadie, the Western Cape-based side is in a position where they want to retain their best players in order to compete. He says they are “not a small club”.
However, the club’s headman admitted that at times, it’s not easy to match what the suitors put on the table for players.
STELLENBOSCH CEO SAYS THEY ARE NOT A SMALL CLUB, THEY WANT TO RETAIN THEIR PLAYERS
“We’re not a small club, we don’t want to be talked about as a small club, so we have to do all we can to retain our players,” said Rob Benadie in an interview with FARPost.
“It’s very difficult to compete with contracts that they offer to them [players] sometimes by clubs that have more resources. But that’s not the only thing that’s important to a player.
“You know the environment that they are in, the coaching that they are getting, the opportunity to play 90 minutes every game. So, we try and look at all those things and see what’s the most we can do for our players to keep them here as long as possible.
“But we also understand that, depending on the player’s age, it might be right for them to go to the next chapter of their career. So,we’re just open about that.
“We try and be consistent and build a consistent squad so that the players feel like they can do something special like you’ve seen us do now [winning Carling Knockout Cup]. “Because we have sold two or three players every year but some of them was for a good reason.’’
STELLIES PLAYERS’ PREVIOUS MOVES TO JOHANNESBURG
Previously, Stellenbosch have sold Sibongiseni Mthethwa, Ashley du Preez, Zitha Kwinika and Phathutshedzo Nange to Kaizer Chiefs. They also lost their star player in Junior Mendieta to Mamelodi Sundowns.
Fawaaz Basadien is one of the players that have been linked with a move to Gauteng with Kaizer Chiefs said to be interested in him.
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