On The Just-Ended DStv Diski Challenge Season
This was a very competitive DStv Diski Challenge season and a very good season for the SuperSport United boys and fortunately we managed to win it. Cape Town City was winning matches at the beginning of the season and in the middle of the season that's when we started to do well and collected most of our points. Of course, wheels started to come off towards the end of the season and the mental aspect came into play; players were strong and did not let a defeat derail them. Every time we had a defeat, they came back stronger the following game and we would win – that showed a lot of mental strength on their side. Despite trying to get results, ultimately, we want to develop players for the senior team within a set timeframe. If you look at players like Shandre Campbell and Neo Rapoo, they are players who excelled by the age of 17. They have developed quickly into where we want them to be. Then there are players who are already with the first team but are struggling to break through because the first team has better players. There is a plan in place in terms of when those players should break through the first team. If that doesn't happen around the age 20, then we want to loan them out and not keep them in the same division, which is the Diski (Challenge). We have to send them to the National First Division (Motsepe Foundation Championship) or to another PSL (topflight) team where they are going to get different exposure. The NFD is the best place to develop them after they have gone through the DDC because it's a very physical league and it gives players a different dimension of what football is all about.
On The Challenges Faced This Season
Last season, we finished as runners-up to Stellenbosch FC and we knew what we had to do to get players ready for the new season. We wanted to achieve better results than we did last season, which means finishing first. We also had to release players midway through the season because we didn't feel they were good for the group or feel that they will break through. To keep players who were not playing motivated, smiling and happy, we had to find other means to bring them together and make them feel part of the family. These were players that did not play much but played a big role in us winning. For example, Ryan Manning played about three or four matches, but he was good for us in terms of the dressing room and coming off the bench. We had to organise them midweek friendly games – we played friendly games against Pretoria Callies about six times. We took players from the first team and DDC team that didn't play and mixed them together to make a team that played those friendly matches. We also played against teams like Tuks and other teams from the NFD because they don't play in midweek and they have a lot of players that are not playing.
On The Competition Between The DDC Teams
If you look at the DDC log table, the teams are very close and this tells you that the level of competition between teams is good. Last season, we were only one point behind league champions Stellenbosch. Teams are putting in a lot of work on their development structures. If you look at Orlando Pirates, most of the players who played this season are new in the DDC space, but they kept the momentum that they had the season before, with "Duku Duku" (Joseph) Makhanya coming in as their coach. They still maintained the same standards and became competitive. The season was very tough and it was not just two teams going for the title. All the top three teams lost against teams that were at the bottom. For example, Swallows FC, who finished 15th, managed to beat us and Pirates. The only difference between the teams at the top and the ones at the bottom is consistency, but the quality and competitiveness is there. It is the level that you expect from a DDC team. But now that the season is over, we have a minimum of six players that will be joining the first team for preseason. Depending on how well they perform, it will determine whether they will stay with the first team or not. Tendamudzimu Matodzi has done very well and Gavin (Hunt) likes him. Shandre Campbell will do the pre-season now, but he needs to finish his matric first and by December or January next year, he will be joining the senior team fulltime. Gavin has a good plan for them and is not afraid to use them. He feels like we need to expose them in matches.
On Some Of Their Top Young Guns
The goalkeeper, Samkelo Xulu, he has been a top player this season and has improved a lot because he is working hard with goalkeeper coaches. He is a sweeper-keeper and that is something that you need in the modern game. His distribution is very good, but he only struggles with high balls coming into the box. He stays focused and is always switched on even we are dominating games because he knows anything can happen. Our centre-backs are all part of the first team. Ime Okon is the next centre-back that will be pushing to play in the first team. He has an ability to head, pass from the back, he is good in one-v-one situations, he still makes mistakes like anyone else but his recovery is very good. We have started working on him on attacking corners so that he can score goals, the way the likes of Morgan Gould and Bongani Khumalo used to do for SuperSport United. He can be that kind of a player. Bilal Baloyi played in the Nedbank Cup (against Dondol Stars). Neo Rapoo is already with the first team. Aphiwe Baliti is going to be going on camp with the first team. In midfield, we have Yandisa Mfolozi, Matodzi, Jabu Matsio; up front we have Keenan Bezuidenhout and Campbell – they will join the first team. Now that SuperSport United has qualified for CAF, there will be more games and with more games, you need more players.
