Kruger United coach Abram Mongoya, who recently guided the club to a historic promotion to the elite league, has opened up on what he says was an ‘ill-informed’ decision to leave them last season.
Kruger beat Black Leopards 3-1 on Saturday afternoon to confirm their promotion to the Betway Premiership with two matches to play. The 40-year-old was also part of the technical team when Kruger gained promotion from the SAFA ABC Motsepe League in 2024, serving as assistant coach to Vusi Mkhatshwa.
He was appointed senior coach when the club parted ways with Mkhatshwa at the beginning of the 2024/25 season.
However, Mongoya left Kruger to join fellow Motsepe Foundation Championship side Upington City towards the end of last season. But he later returned to the club this season, where he took them from position nine to promotion.
KRUGER UNITED COACH MAKES AN HONEST ADMISSION ABOUT LEAVING THE CLUB LAST SEASON
“I think the club has always respected me. As a person, I was a little bit ambitious to move away because of some challenges we had last season,” said Mongoya.
“But I came back. I learnt my lessons; I could have been more focused and stayed in the team. But that also helped me to realise that the grass is not always greener on the other side.
“But you come back home, and you get a management that really knows you better, and they understand your shortcomings as well, and they try to protect you and help you,” he added.
ABRAM MONGOYA SHOWS GRATITUDE AFTER ACHIEVING HISTORIC PROMOTION TO ELITE LEAGUE
“It’s not that I am the most talented coach, I always tell my boys that I think I am the hardest working coach, and it reflects on the technical team.
“We couldn’t have achieved what we did. We are never satisfied, and we always want to improve. But we also need to be grateful and show gratitude.”
RELATED STORY: Abram Mongoya returns to Kruger United after Upington City exit drama