The dejection on the faces of Swallows’ players and coach Dylan Kerr at the final whistle underlined how disastrous the goalless draw against Chippa United may prove in their survival fight.
Kerr became teary-eyed, at a loss for words as he attempted to explain how Swallows are languishing in 15th place on the DStv Premiership log, staring down the barrel of relegation.
The Swallows coach, Kerr, somewhat regarded as a ‘relegation battle specialist’ in South Africa’s top-flight, is seemingly running out of solutions, with his biggest headache being the striking force.
“We are our own worst enemies; we do things in training that we know we need to work on. They [players] knew how big the game was [versus Chippa], but again, decision making in and around the penalty area has hurt the club,” Kerr told the media after the 0-0 at Dobsonville Stadium on Saturday.
When Brandon Truter was fired with Kerr taking over back in December, Swallows were at the basement of the DStv Premiership log with one win in 12 matches.
Seventeen games later, with Kerr, who guided Marumo Gallants, Black Leopards and Baroka to avoid the dreaded regelation axe at the helm, not much has improved. The Maltese-born coach has only managed to register a single victory, seven draws and eight defeats.
Kerr has blamed the club’s struggles on the lack of killer instinct in the attacking zone.
“We worked on crossing and finishing as we do every single week, and we are just wasteful,” he said.
“We work on things, breaking the opponents down and putting the ball in the right areas. We have dominated matches, but we have this curse of not being able to put the ball in the back of the net.
“In training sessions, the way we play and train, the chances we create and the chances we score are unbelievable,” concluded Kerr.
Swallows are with 16th-placed Baroka, TS Galaxy in 14th spot and Maritzburg United in 13th place in the relegation battle and it remains to be seen who will survive the drop.
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