La Masia boss opens up on relegation, Daine Klate stint
Nazeer Barker, the chairman of La Masia, has admitted to making mistakes that led to their relegation, also touching on coach Daine Klate’s tenure.
La Masia were sent back to the SAFA ABC Motsepe League after finishing 15th in the Motsepe Foundation Championship in the just-ended 2023/24 campaign.
The Gauteng-based club spent only two seasons in the national first division after their promotion during the ABC Motsepe League National Playoffs in Potchefstroom.
“It was a season of lots of learning. Mistakes were made from myself right down to the players,” Barker admitted to FARPost.
LA MASIA BOSS ADMIT TO MAKING MISTAKES FOLLOWING THEIR RELEGATION
“I don’t think each and every one was up to the standards that were required.”
Barker also commented on what led to the departure of former Orlando Pirates winger Daine Klate. The latter was in charge of 17 matches, winning just three, leaving the club in 12th position.
“I don’t think something in particular went wrong. We deal in a results-driven industry, and results didn’t go our way,” he said.
“We came back from the year’s end, and Daine Klate was there until he left. I think in four or five games, there were no results, and obviously, you had to take action. You could see that the morale in the camp was going down and I think from there it never recovered.”
The club is now set to return to the ABC Motsepe League in Gauteng, and Barker admits that returning to the PSL will not be easy.
“One thing I can tell you about the Gauteng ABC Motsepe League is it’s a very difficult league. You have five to six teams that are very ambitious,” he said.
“So it’s not going to be an easy one to just bounce back. In the same way, we have ambitions to bounce back; I think teams like Highlands Park have ambitions. Jomo Cosmos, African All-Stars, and Pele Pele have the same ambitions.
“So you need to also prepare your mind psychologically that you will be up against tough teams. You also know there are politics of the ABC Motsepe League which I don’t want to mention. But we will go to the drawing board. We have done it before, and we can do it again.”
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