After remaining tightlipped about the matter for two solid weeks, the chairman of Black Leopards, Mr David Thidiela, has finally cleared the air by revealing their position regarding the future of the team’s head coach, Mr Sean Connor, and his assistants, Mr Solly Luvhengo and Ashwin Sutton, at the club.
According to Thidiela, the team’s poor performance in their first four matches was not only a worrying factor to the management, but it was also a thorn in the flesh of the players as well. He stated that after their 0-2 defeat at the hands of Witbank Spurs in Witbank three weeks ago, the players requested the management to relieve the two assistant coaches for one match and give them a chance to be on their own in the match against Baroka FC. He said that he had to succumb to the players’ request as the results were not positive.
With one of the players, Mongezi Bobe, giving instructions from the technical bench, Leopards managed to beat Baroka 2-0 at the Thohoyandou Stadium two weeks ago. Thidiela said that tempted him to believe that there was something wrong with Luvhengo and Sutton’s coaching technique, as the team registered the first victory in their absence. He reiterated the fact that it then prompted him to ask the two assistant coaches to relinquish power last week.
According to him, the whole move was not meant to hurt anyone, but only to save the situation. He said the team was on the brink of a catastrophe under their guidance. “Unfortunately, some people had to lose their jobs while we were trying to save the situation, but the move was not meant to hurt anyone,” he said. Luvhengo confirmed to Limpopo Mirror that he and Black Leopards had parted ways harmoniously, but we couldn’t get any reaction from Sutton. His phone is always on voicemail and he didn’t answer his calls.
Thidiela revealed that the departure of Luvhengo and Sutton means that the former assistant coach, Mr Joel Masutha, will be the caretaker-coach, with Mongezi Bobe as his assistant, until further notice. Masutha and Bobe were on the bench when Leopards beat Vasco da Gama 2-0 at the Parow Park Stadium in Cape Town last Saturday.
The team’s head coach, Mr Sean Connor, is at present in his home country, Ireland, to sort out his work permit. When asked about the future of Connor, Thidiela said that “we will see that when he comes back”. The Irishman joined Leopards early this season, but could not sit on the team’s technical bench as a result of problems relating to his work permit.
