Cape Town City’s Director of Football, Andries Ulderink, has offered a candid explanation for the club’s disastrous start to life in the Motsepe Foundation Championship. The Citizens, who were demoted after losing the PSL relegation/promotion playoffs, failed to register a win in their first six games under new coach Jan Vreman, immediately putting pressure on the club’s ambitious plan for a swift return to the Premiership.
Speaking exclusively on the challenging period, Ulderink highlighted the difficulties in managing the emotional and structural fallout following the drop from the top flight.
The Dutchman also pointed to the significant loss of key personnel as a crucial blow that fundamentally reshaped the squad. Following relegation, the club saw a mass exodus of influential players, including Thulani Serero, Fortune Makaringe, Thabo Nodada, Thami Mkhize, Darwin Gonzalez, Darren Keet, Haashim Domingo, Elson Sithole and Kamohelo Mokotjo.
“I think when you look at our start, six games, I think three points,” Ulderink told FARPost. “The relegation was really hard for everybody, and I don’t think only for the players, but also for staff members, the owners, everybody who was involved, and also the people in the office. It was really mentally a hard one.”
“I think the relegation, the mental side of that. Some players may have been hoping for a transfer or another year in the PSL. So everybody was looking forward to those changes, but because of relegation, we couldn’t make them. So, I think that was really tough for everybody.”
REMARKABLE TURNAROUND FOR CAPE TOWN CITY
Despite the initial struggle, the Citizens have engineered a remarkable turnaround. After finally securing their first three points on match day seven, the team has been on an incessant rise up the log.
“I think the last six to seven weeks, you see a change, and I’m very happy with that, with a lot of players stepping up,” he added.
The club now heads into the AFCON break riding a wave of confidence, sitting in fourth place after 14 games [six wins, four draws, and four losses]. They are just five points behind the log leaders, Milford United. Their defensive solidity has also returned, with only six goals conceded, while their attack has found form, netting 11 goals.
The team’s recent form is notably impressive, securing three consecutive wins and scoring eight goals, including a commanding 4-0 victory over Lerumo Lions.
Ulderink noted that the away games in the NFD are “really difficult”, especially with “long travel”.
“The ambition is to return to the PSL, but everybody knows how difficult it is,” he told FARPost. “And to talk every day, every week about that you need to go back to the PSL, I don’t believe in that. It’s for me, it’s about developing the team, trying to win the next game. But especially developing players and the team. If you do that, I strongly believe you will eventually win your games. And as I said, it’s not easy in the NFD – sometimes it’s 35 degrees somewhere, sometimes you play on a poor pitch.”
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