Marumo Gallants new head coach Ronnie Kanalelo has explained his decision to take up the Bahlabane Ba Ntwa job despite their sluggish start to the 2026/27 season.
Gallants officially confirmed the appointment of Kanalelo as the club’s new mentor on Monday, 14 September, following the sacking of Phuti Mohafe.
Mohafe cut ties with the club along with his assistant Musa Bilankulu on Wednesday, 9 September.
The former Polokwane City FC coach, Mohafe, endured a challenging stint at Gallants after joining the club ahead of the current campaign to replace Trevor Mathiane, who served as interim coach toward the end of last season.
Five games into the season, Mohafe remained winless at the North West-based outfit, having managed two draws and three defeats in the league.
After struggling to produce positive results at Gallants, the Abram Sello-owned side pulled the trigger, firing Mohafe after just three months at the helm.
Meanwhile, Kanalelo’s tenure at Gallants began with a setback on Sunday, 20 September, as his side suffered a 2-0 defeat to Orlando Pirates in their Betway Premiership tie at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Phokeng.
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In an exclusive interview with FARPost, Kanalelo opened up about what drove him to accept the challenge at the struggling side.
“Look, I have always been a guy who takes on projects where we start from scratch and projects that are in difficult situations,” Kanalelo told FARPost.
“So, I am very confident that we will be able to fix things and turn the tables around moving forward. With the FIFA break now, this becomes an important time for us to fix things. We cannot go on a recess when we are still not clear about our style of play.
“We want to make sure everything goes according to our plan and that every player is very clear about our principles and our game model.”
Bahlabane Ba Ntwa currently find themselves languishing at the bottom of the league standings. In their opening seven Premiership fixtures, Gallants are yet to taste victory, having collected just two points following five defeats and two draws.
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