Fighters' coach sacked over poor performance
Calistus Kolantsho | Thursday October 24, 2013 14:52
Fighters have lost two games in a row. Club chairman, Bob Dintwe said they decided to part ways with Mmesi because of poor results. He said that they did not set a target for the coach, but he was given a mandate to build the club and turn it into a competitive side. He said that the plan was for the club to do well and that was when they were to negotiate further with Mmesi.
Dintwe said that the players have informed him that they had a strained relationship with the coach. The coach was accused of making substitutions that cost the team matches and failing to read games. He gave the example of the loss against Rolling Boys over the weekend and the Mascom Top 8 game against Mochudi Centre Chiefs. He said Fighters could have won the matches but the coach made poor decisions.
Mmesi has been at the helm of Mogoditshane Fighters since December 2012. Dintwe said the assistant coach, Botsang Batlhalefi will be guiding the team after the departure of Mmesi.
He said Fighters have one of the best welfare programmes in the country for players.
In response to his sacking, Mmesi stated that he does not like complaining over small issues because he is a person of integrity. He blamed the management of Fighters for not giving him enough support. He said vice chairperson, Masego Nchingane resigned after two weeks in office and that is an indication that things are not well at Fighters. He said that the situation at Fighters is not conducive for a good performance. Mmesi said being fired by the club will not deter his vision of coaching.
He said that the soccer balls that are being used by the team are not FIFA approved.
“When we played against Killer Giants, we did not have soccer balls. I have long pleaded with the leadership of the club to purchase balls, but nothing happened. That is a clear sign of lack of support,” said Mmesi.
He said that the team’s line-up is changing every weekend because some players are failing to attend training due to lack of transport. Mmesi said the players told the chairperson during a meeting on Tuesday that they were not happy about the way he is running the club.