After saving the multimillion-rand topflight status of AmaZulu FC following disappointing results under Romain Folz, Ayanda Dlamini must have been so chuffed to the point of planning for the following season. Club president Sandile Zungu had become seriously concerned about the team's position on the log standings and the man nicknamed "Cobra", who had served the team with commitment since his playing days, was prepared to take the bull by the horns and he successfully delivered on the mandate. However, he was then told his services were no longer needed. The Ulundi-born mentor shares his disappointment with the turn of events with Soccer Laduma's Masebe Qina in this interview. Currently with third-tier outfit Umvoti FC, Dlamini also lifts the lid on his unpleasant working relationship with Folz and reveals why, despite all that happened, he remains grateful to the KZN outfit.
Masebe Qina: "Cobra", how has the transition been from topflight to third tier, as you're now with Umvoti FC?
Ayanda Dlamini: I'd say it's been okay, my brother. I had to start my own chapter elsewhere after being with AmaZulu FC for so long, and Umvoti FC were willing to give me the opportunity. In life, there is somewhere that someone should start. I'd been with AmaZulu for long and maybe it was time to move on for a fresh start in a different environment. So, I'd say the transition has been good and I'm adjusting very well.
MQ: Your departure from Usuthu seemed a little untimely.
AD: (Sighs) Ja, it was not good. To be honest, I felt very bad about it and I was not okay for a couple of days, but I realised that I had to calm myself down and accept the situation. AmaZulu will always be my home, and are still my home even now, if I may put it that way. I love the club because I'm where I am today because of AmaZulu. People know Ayanda Dlamini because of AmaZulu and the club has done a lot for me. When the time came for me to leave, it was very painful for me because of the feelings I have for the team. When I was there, I always gave my best for the team. On the other side, I took it positively to say maybe it was time for me to challenge myself by going somewhere and building myself by doing what I do best, which is coaching. Maybe, when the time arrives, I will go back to the top league, and I would appreciate that, but for now my focus is where I am, to try and elevate the team that I'm with.
MQ: How would you rate your progress in those last six matches you took charge of?
AD: I think under the circumstances, I did well. I know people will say, "But it was only five out of 18 points", but if you look at the state in which I found the team, I don't think it was going to be easy to get those five points to help the team survive relegation. Realistically speaking, the Top Eight was out of reach. People can count the points (that we had to play for) and say we still had a chance, but on my side and looking at the way things were going, I could see that the ship was sinking. Because I was there in the middle of it all and experienced it, I can safely say that I did my best in making sure that the status of the club was saved. For me, saving the status of the club was the most important thing to do because losing it was going to be a huge loss for everyone in the team and the management. Therefore, I played my part and I did that very well.
MQ: In confirming the parting of ways, the club's President, Sandile Zungu, was quoted saying, "He won one, drew two and he lost three. That is an achievement he can't be proud of. Neither can I be proud of that achievement."
AD: I watched the press conference from the beginning to the end and a lot was said. A lot of it, my brother. Look, I prefer not to say a lot of things, but like I say to you, I saved the team from relegation and I'm proud of that. Some of the things that were said were very, very painful to me. I couldn't believe some of the things that were said. I had to take it on the chin. Deep down in my heart, I know that I saved the team and people know that I saved the team, including those inside the club. We saved the jobs that were going to be lost if the team was to be relegated. When I took over for those last six games, everyone in the team was worried that the club was heading for relegation and no one at that stage was talking about the Top Eight. For us to have survived relegation and saved the jobs, it means we achieved on what we were supposed to do. Whatever was said afterwards can only make me grow and be strong.
MQ: Sure…
AD: (Sighs heavily and takes a pause) The problem is that no one spoke to me about the Top Eight when I took over, and that's the difficult part of it. All that was said was that we were in danger of relegation, and I was asked to do my best to get the points that would enable us to survive relegation. I think it was only after we won against Sekhukhune United that people started talking about the Top Eight. We had drawn 2-2 against Cape Town City and lost 2-1 against SuperSport United and everyone was talking about relegation at that stage. "Please, guys, try to save the team" – those were the words that were being used at the time. But after the Sekhukhune win, people started getting hopeful and the topic about the Top Eight began.
MQ: Who were those people talking about the Top Eight?
AD: A lot of people, I don't want to mention names. "The Top Eight is possible," people were saying. The counting of points started, and I remained realistic about the situation we were in and even the guys I had in the technical team were with me in focusing on one thing and that was to save the team from relegation. We didn't want to get carried away, only to end up getting the team further down in the relegation zone. We saw those six games as a do-or-die situation for us to save the team. We had to sink or swim, and the Top Eight was never in the picture.
MQ: Obviously you expected your contract to be extended.
AD: To be honest, I was hoping that at least I'd be given a chance. I've always said that I'm not in a rush to coach or… I'm still a young coach. Since I was there for those last six games, I hoped that there would be, sort of, an agreement for me to continue even if alongside the new coach if at the time the plan had already been for a new coach to come. If the new coach wasn't going to want to work with me, I thought maybe there would be a plan to help me to move forward with my career (within the club's structures) or something like that. But I am grateful to the club, we had a contract and they paid me every month and they don't owe me anything. When they made the decision, it was well received because it is not like they owed me anything. They honoured the contract I had with them until the end.
MQ: What was it like working with Romain Folz?
AD: (Sighs heavily) My brother, what I'm going to tell you now is from the bottom of my heart and it's not like I want to talk bad about someone or anything like that. I was an assistant coach to coach Romain, and he is a good guy, but anyone who was inside the team at that time would tell you that I was never given a chance, practically, to perform my assistant coaching duties under the guy. I never got a chance to perform my duties on the touchline or in training. He never gave me that chance. I was more like someone who was there to just collect the balls and bibs if he needed bibs, but in terms of planning the sessions and everything else to do with coaching, everything would just be sent as a WhatsApp message. Most of the time, I'd just be given a piece of paper on the morning of the session showing what the team would be doing and then he'd do everything himself. It was difficult for me, but one thing for me that was important was the team. I did raise the issue with the relevant people, especially when things started looking bad for the team (in terms of the results). I did that to make them aware that I didn't have a say in what was happening. At that stage, even some of the players had started asking questions like, "Why is coach Ayanda not getting involved?" I believe that each and every coach has his own way of working, and maybe he had planned to come with his own assistant … I really don't know … but that was the situation.
MQ: Shocking! Did the management know about this?
AD: Ja, it's something that was raised to a point that there was a meeting about it. Everything was discussed in trying to find solutions. They did their best to make sure that something was done about it, and for one week after the meeting there was a little bit of a difference and people saw me getting involved here and there, but it was only for that week and after that, things got back to 'normal'. It got to a point where I accepted it and said, "Let it be", because I could see that nothing was going to change.
MQ: Abbubaker Mobara came out publicly to allege that Folz made the players 'believe in something that wasn't there'.
AD: Mobara is an experienced player who has played for big teams, and he is a straightforward person. He says things the way he sees them. But I won't comment much on what he said because he knows what he was talking about and there's no need for me to add on what he said. But what I know about him is that he is that kind of a guy who will tell you, whether you are a coach or whoever, that whatever you are saying is not true if he believes so. He isn't the one who needs to first go behind your back before he says things about you. If he feels that the coach is going on and on about something that he feels won't work, he will say it whether the coach will accept it or not. But I like that approach, to be honest, than people who go behind others' backs to say things.
MQ: A lot has been said about AmaZulu players, at least those that were there last season, apparently not being coachable. How was your experience with them?
AD: I respect the comments made by the other coaches on that, but I never experienced it. Maybe a colleague must have experienced something different to what I experienced with the guys. I won't talk about when I was an assistant coach because I wasn't in charge, but for the six games that I worked with the players, we were united and worked towards one goal, to save the club.
MQ: Anything to add before we let you go?
AD: Thank you to the supporters of Usuthu. Since my playing days, they always showed me love and embraced me as their brother and son, and I'll forever be grateful to them for that. Even now that I'm no longer part of the team, some of them are still sending me messages and wishing me good luck, which to me is proof that they still appreciate my contribution to the club. I remember in the 2019/20 season, I was in a similar situation where the team wasn't doing well and was at the bottom of the log and I was called to save the situation, and the supporters still remember that I saved the team in the bio bubble. To the management and staff of AmaZulu and everyone, I am grateful for the love and support they showed me. To you, President, for everything you did for me, I'll always be appreciative, and I wish the team can do well this season to make you proud by achieving the goals that have been set. Thank you very much.
