Despite a slow start to his tenure as head coach of Venda FC, Kaitano Tembo remains confident that the club will turn the corner in terms of results in the competitive second-tier league.
Venda FC remain rooted at the bottom of the Motsepe Foundation Championship log standings after seven games with no win. They have collected only a single point with six defeats in seven games.
The former SuperSport United and Sekhukhune United coach has been in charge for two matches, a 3-1 loss to Magesi FC at the Thohoyandou Stadium and a 1-0 loss away to Midlands Wanderers.
But Tembo has been impressed with how the players have responded so far and believes it’s only a matter of time before the club starts collecting points.
NEW VENDA FC COACH CONFIDENT THE CLUB WILL START COLLECTING POINTS
“Look, the response has been very good from the players in terms of the work ethic, you know, although there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done,” Tembo told FARPost. “But I’m quite positive that we’ll turn things around very soon. Look, I think it also comes with a lot of confidence, you know, because I think we haven’t won in the last six games, so, you know, it’s something that we need to try and work on.”
Venda FC have roped in some experienced campaigners, including former Golden Arrows striker Knox Mutizwa, fellow Zimbabwean striker Douglas Mapfumo, and former Baroka FC captain Bonginkosi Makume, to name a few.
CAN THE EXPERIENCED PLAYERS COME TO THE PARTY FOR STRUGGLING MOTSEPE FOUNDATION CHAMPIONSHIP SIDE?
But Tembo conceded it might take some time for some of the experienced players to regain their form and confidence.
Knox [Mutizwa] hasn’t played, you know, for quite some time as well, and he came in a little bit late. [Bonginkosi] Makume as well also came a little bit late, so they were a bit lacking in terms of their, you know, fitness condition.”
”But I’m quite happy with what I’ve been seeing. You know, hopefully, they will start, you know, gelling with the team because they’ve got to try and make sure that we have a strong spine, in terms of how we want to play, and then the young players will be able to fit in there.”
Venda have another tough match this coming weekend as they travel to Hungry Lions FC in the Northern Cape. They face a Hungry Lions side that sits fourth on the log, five points behind log leaders Magesi FC.
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