Chippa United chairman Siviwe “Chippa” Mpengesi has promised major reshuffling for next season after his club managed to retain their Premier Soccer League status.
Mpengesi said the planned changes were intended to prevent the team from finding themselves in the same position they found themselves in while fighting the big drop this past month.
The Chilli Boys managed to keep their PSL status despite losing 2-0 to champions Kaizer Chiefs at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
This was only due to them having a better goal difference than Moroka Swallows after both teams ended the season on 30 points.Swallows managed to get themselves out of the sticky situation of being automatically relegated. They qualified for the promotion-relegation play-offs against two NFD teams after beating Bloemfontein Celtic 1-0 at Dobsonville Stadium. AmaZulu were not lucky and relegated after losing 2-1 to Maritzburg United.
Mpengesi said the club’s string of poor results had led to them struggling to stave off relegation but also mentioned some other factors.
He said relocation, ill-disciplined players and the incorrect selection of coaches had all played a part but lessons had been learnt.
“The decision of relocation took time, it was finalised just a month before kickoff. Relocation for us was a nightmare – getting new accommodation, getting players familiar with the environment and everything. That was our first challenge.
“The second challenge was getting the right coach for the team.
“As a result, almost a month passed by and the club was without a coach. When we could not get the coach we were looking for, we just grabbed and took whoever was available,” Mpengesi said.
He added: “But surprisingly, we did well in our first round. In fact, if it wasn’t for that good first half we wouldn’t be here today.
“Most of our players came from NFD and it was a new environment for them to be in the PSL.
“Port Elizabeth is a holiday destination. These boys go to training and after training they go out and party. So we had a big problem of ill- disciplined players.
“I would say, almost 70 percent of our players were ill-disciplined.
“When they started winning in the first round, they became big-headed and the discipline just got worse.
“But players are not like coaches. You can’t just fire players at any time because they have contracts.”
Mpengesi, who is known for being trigger-happy when it come to firing coaches, believes management hired the wrong coaches.
“Hiring of coaches is where we also went wrong this season. We always made the wrong choices.
“Everything last season was a lesson. We are going to sit down and talk about all of these problems.
“We have all the time on our hands now to do something. But there will be serious off-loading done in terms of players,” Mpengesi said.
He said all issues needed to be sorted before a new coach is employed.
“We are finalising the structures now to make sure whoever comes to coach the club comes to a good environment.”
He said bringing the club to PE was the best decision.
He further applauded Axxess Management for taking Chippa United under their wing by managing the administration, finance and marketing side of the club.
“I am very grateful for their assistance because professional football is not only about playing on the field.
“They came to our rescue. We were in trouble. We are definitely keeping our relationship with them,” he said.
Major reshuffle on cards for Chippa United
Mpengesi said the planned changes were intended to prevent the team from finding themselves in the same position they found themselves in while fighting the big drop this past month.
The Chilli Boys managed to keep their PSL status despite losing 2-0 to champions Kaizer Chiefs at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
This was only due to them having a better goal difference than Moroka Swallows after both teams ended the season on 30 points.Swallows managed to get themselves out of the sticky situation of being automatically relegated. They qualified for the promotion-relegation play-offs against two NFD teams after beating Bloemfontein Celtic 1-0 at Dobsonville Stadium. AmaZulu were not lucky and relegated after losing 2-1 to Maritzburg United.
Mpengesi said the club’s string of poor results had led to them struggling to stave off relegation but also mentioned some other factors.
He said relocation, ill-disciplined players and the incorrect selection of coaches had all played a part but lessons had been learnt.
“The decision of relocation took time, it was finalised just a month before kickoff. Relocation for us was a nightmare – getting new accommodation, getting players familiar with the environment and everything. That was our first challenge.
“The second challenge was getting the right coach for the team.
“As a result, almost a month passed by and the club was without a coach. When we could not get the coach we were looking for, we just grabbed and took whoever was available,” Mpengesi said.
He added: “But surprisingly, we did well in our first round. In fact, if it wasn’t for that good first half we wouldn’t be here today.
“Most of our players came from NFD and it was a new environment for them to be in the PSL.
“Port Elizabeth is a holiday destination. These boys go to training and after training they go out and party. So we had a big problem of ill- disciplined players.
“I would say, almost 70 percent of our players were ill-disciplined.
“When they started winning in the first round, they became big-headed and the discipline just got worse.
“But players are not like coaches. You can’t just fire players at any time because they have contracts.”
Mpengesi, who is known for being trigger-happy when it come to firing coaches, believes management hired the wrong coaches.
“Hiring of coaches is where we also went wrong this season. We always made the wrong choices.
“Everything last season was a lesson. We are going to sit down and talk about all of these problems.
“We have all the time on our hands now to do something. But there will be serious off-loading done in terms of players,” Mpengesi said.
He said all issues needed to be sorted before a new coach is employed.
“We are finalising the structures now to make sure whoever comes to coach the club comes to a good environment.”
He said bringing the club to PE was the best decision.
He further applauded Axxess Management for taking Chippa United under their wing by managing the administration, finance and marketing side of the club.
“I am very grateful for their assistance because professional football is not only about playing on the field.
“They came to our rescue. We were in trouble. We are definitely keeping our relationship with them,” he said.
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