Maritzburg United head coach Fadlu Davids has disclosed what gives him a glimmer of hope amid the relegation battle in the DStv Premiership.
Davids returned to the Pietermaritzburg-based side in November following the sacking of John Maduka.
It felt like he had turned the tables when the Team of Choice won three consecutive league games in January.
However, things started to go south again as his charges haven’t picked up a win in their last seven matches in all competitions.
Most of the time, Davids has lamented the lack of experience of his youthful side when they lose, but now he says he has a nice blend of youngsters and seasoned players.
He believes the veterans will be of help in uplifting the inexperienced players.
WHAT GIVES FADLU DAVIDS HOPE AMID RELEGATION BATTLE
“We have worked now a situation where we have four players over the age of 23 in the starting line-up,” he told the journalists.
“And those are your experienced guys like [Ali] Meza, Amadou [Soukouna], [Bonginkosi] Makume came to the line-up maybe as a fifth. We brought [Keegan] Ritchie [against Kaizer Chiefs], Travis [Graham] to give us that extra experience on the pitch.
“We have a lot of talented players, but the experience of sometimes managing the game, sometimes critical phases, we’re paying school fees for those mistakes.
“For young players to be able to learn and grow, they have to make mistakes, but we’re in a situation where each mistake is costly.
“It’s about coaching, that’s all we can do on the pitch. And once the game starts, it’s up to the experienced players to switch young players on in setpieces, dead ball situations, and to organise our team.”
Davids’ troops are currently 15th on the log standings with 21 points in the bag after 23 games played.
They will be looking to turn their fortunes around when the league resumes after the FIFA international break.
Their next match will be on Sunday, 02 April, against TS Galaxy at the Mbombela Stadium.
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