Magesi FC head coach Allan Freese has opened up about the uphill battle facing his side, who are struggling to find their footing in the Betway Premiership while remaining rooted at the bottom of the log.
The Limpopo-based outfit has found the going tough in the South African elite league, as their woes deepened when they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday night.
The match between Amakhosi and Dikwena Tsa Meetse took place at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Goals from Wandile Duba and Mfundo Vilakazi were enough to earn the Soweto giants maximum points.
As a result, Magesi are now winless in 13 games across all competitions. Since taking the reins, Freese has overseen five league games, recording three draws and two defeats.
Under the tutelage of the former Platinum Stars mentor, the side has collected just three points out of a possible 15. Magesi remain at the bottom of the Betway Premiership standings in 16th place with 14 points after 21 matches.
‘I COULDN’T SIGN ANYBODY’: ALLAN FREESE
Speaking after the Chiefs game, Freese didn’t hide the fact that his hands are tied regarding personnel, having joined the club outside of the registration window.
Freese went on to state that he is forced to work with the players he already has at his disposal in his quest to save the sinking ship.
“Unfortunately, I came in during a period when I couldn’t sign anybody. You can’t sign anybody during this period. So, even if I can see where we are lacking, I can’t go and tell the management to sign this player,” said Freese. “So, I have to work with what I have and give it my best, providing the team with the best that I can.”
ALLAN FREESE REFLECTS ON THEIR OVERALL PERFORMANCE AGAINST KAIZER CHIEFS
Reflecting on the performance against the Glamour Boys, Freese praised his side’s effort in the opening 45 minutes, but lamented the schoolboy errors that allowed Chiefs to take control.
“I came here with a mountain to climb. My job was to come here and do well. However, things didn’t work out. We made mistakes that cost us. Hopefully, when we go back, we can try to fix some of the mistakes we made. I think everyone saw that we gave it our best, especially in the first half,” he added.
“In a game of football, when you make mistakes, the opposition will punish you. I have to go back and say, ‘Okay, this is where things went wrong, and I think this is where we were right'”.
“But we made too many mistakes. We had a couple of chances, but we didn’t take advantage of them. We still have a couple of games left, and I hope that going forward we can do better. I believe we can do better if we work as a team; if we are not working collectively, then we are not going to achieve anything.”
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