Malesela unlikely to ever go back to Chippa: 'It's just the firing and hiring part that is happening'

Dan Malesela says he is unlikely to ever go back to Chippa United as his frequent dismissals by trigger-happy club owner Siviwe Mpengesi have taken a huge toll on his family‚ especially on his children.

Malesela was in his fourth stint as Chippa coach when Mpengesi once again pulled the trigger after the Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) club were handed an embarrassing 5-1 thrashing by Maritzburg United in a league match at the weekend.

The hapless coach told TimesLIVE on Tuesday that his on-and-off relationship with the fickle and notoriously impatient Mpengesi has embarrassed his family.

“I may never go back to Chippa and even if I want to go back in the future‚ my family will not allow me because this is very strenuous‚” he said as he travelled from the Eastern Cape to Pretoria.

“For me to go back‚ that contract would need to have serious clauses. For example‚ it must clearly stipulate that you can’t release me before a certain number of matches are completed.

“I am saying this because of the experiences that I have had with this club‚ but I doubt if he [Mpengesi] will ever agree to such a contract and this means my chances of going back there are very slim.

“As things stand now‚ I don’t know what is going to happen in the future — but I have to find another job because I am worried about my children. They have just started university and what is going to happen going forward if I don’t get another job.”

Malesela revealed that his children are being ridiculed by other children as Mpengesi continues to fire him on a regular basis.

“This is also an embarrassment to my children and other members of my family because people know that they are my children. My daughter was telling me these other children were telling her that 'your father was fired'.

“This thing is taking a huge toll on my family and I also want some sort of stability in my life. I hope that there is somebody out there who has a vision and they can offer me a job to coach their club.”

Asked about the nature of his relationship with Mpengesi‚ Malesela said they have never had a confrontation.

“We have never fought‚ it is just the firing and hiring part that is happening. There was never an incident where we had an argument or anything like that.

“In actual fact‚ there was never an argument between me and him. I don’t know if I should [describe] our relationship as that of mutual respect when someone calls you and fires you [regularly], but we have never really fought or had an ugly situation.”