Newly appointed head coach of Marumo Gallants, Jamil Benouahi, has explained what went wrong after suffering a defeat in his first match in charge at the club.
Gallants suffered a heavy 3-0 loss against fellow relegation-threatened side Magesi FC in a Betway Premiership clash at the Seshego Stadium in Polokwane on Tuesday night.
It was the first match for Benouahi, who was officially appointed as Gallants coach a week ago to replace Frenchman Alexandre Lafitte. The latter was shown the exit door after a catastrophic slump in form saw the club suffer seven consecutive defeats across all competitions, leaving their Premiership status hanging by a thread.
He was initially suspended following “issues relating to a failure to comply with contractual duties” before eventually being released.
However, his departure hasn’t sparked a turnaround, as the recent defeat deepens the club’s crisis. The result leaves Gallants tied on 18 points with second-from-bottom Orbit College FC and just one point above Magesi FC, who currently sit at the foot of the table.
BENOUAHI ADMITS ‘SILLY MISTAKES’ AS MARUMO GALLANTS DEBUT ENDS IN DEFEAT
The 47-year-old Moroccan mentor alluded to silly mistakes from his team as the reason for the defeat.
“Yeah, for sure. It wasn’t the results we were seeking. We made a lot of mistakes, and when you lose 3-0, it means you haven’t been good,” he explained.
“We just have to go back and start working. In another five days, we have another game, so we don’t have time to think about this game. We will watch the game again and see what we have done badly. So that we can try to fix everything for the 12th [of April on Sunday – a game against Orbit].”
JAMIL BENOUAHAI ADMITS THE SCHEDULE AHEAD IS HECTIC AMID RELEGATION FIGHT
“We knew that starting from 7 April, it’s going to be tough and short on time for the games. We worked a lot for the last two weeks [during the FIFA international break]. But we know we just have to go back, and the video will help to watch the games, and also we have to work mentally with our players to get these boys in a good state of mind quickly.”
Gallants will now face Orbit College FC in another bottom-of-the-table clash on Sunday, 12 April.
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