Newly-appointed Marumo Gallants coach Dan Malesela has explained why he believes his return to the club is different compared to his other two stints.
Malesela was reappointed by the club this week to take over from Dylan Kerr. The latter shockingly resigned three weeks after he returned to Gallants for this third stint.
Malesela, who took Baroka FC to the PSL promotional/Relegation playoffs last season, says besides not expecting the call from the club, he was already thinking about a return.
WHY DAN MALESELA HAS ALWAYS THOUGHT ABOUT A RETURN TO THE BETWAY PREMIERSHIP SIDE
“Yes and no. I didn’t expect [the call], but at the back of my mind, I was already thinking about it,” he told FARPost.
“When they announced that they were acquiring the status, I thought about it a little bit.”
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIS FIRST PREVIOUS STINTS AT MARUMO GALLANTS?
The 59-year-old was in charge when Marumo Gallants lost in the final of the Nedbank Cup to Mamelodi Sundowns in 2022. He also helped the side qualify for the CAF Confederation Cup but left after a fallout with the management.
“Look, first of all, it’s me starting [the season] with the club. Although it’s not the whole pre-season but at least I have a bit of time,” added Malesela.
“Thanks to the delay of the start of the league. I don’t get a lot of chances where I start with the pre-season and also choose players that I want to choose. Although you now have a situation where players are coming from Swallows and the club when they were in the first division.
“But it at least gives me a chance to prepare them properly and choose the right players for the job. So it’s a bit better and a bit different. Obviously also to rectify some of our approaches. We spoke about that. Some of the things where we went wrong we need to correct and not repeat them.”
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