Ertugral's 'holiday' is over
Irvin Khoza labelled new coach Muhsin Ertugral’s stint with Mpumalanga Black Aces as a “holiday” compared to what lies ahead for him at Orlando Pirates.
|||Johannesburg - Irvin Khoza, the Orlando Pirates chairman, on Wednesday labelled new coach Muhsin Ertugral’s season-long stint with the now defunct Mpumalanga Black Aces - a side he guided to fourth place on the Absa Premiership log table - as a “holiday” compared to what lies ahead as he begins his tenure with the Buccaneers next week.
Some club bosses often have to spell out mandates for newly appointed coaches, but not so with Khoza, who argued that the Soweto giant’s massive stature has done all the talking for Ertugral to know his targets.
“Now that he (Ertugral) is inside, he understands that it is not easy to coach Pirates. When we refresh the team, we are doing so listening to the expectations of many of our stakeholders. We don’t have to say much, but he knows that his life is no longer private,” said Khoza, speaking to reporters at the launch of the MTN8 on Wednesday.
“Wherever he goes now, everyone talks to him, unlike before he came. It was easy for him. When he was with Aces he was on a bit of holiday I think. But not anymore because 24/7 he has to answer something.”
Khoza said the fiery Turkish tactician will need to be strong mentally.
“It’s quite an interesting job, meaning it is not easy if ever you don’t try to garner the mental strength to cope with the challenge.”
The Buccaneers host Golden Arrows at Orlando Stadium in their 2016/17 Premier League opener on Tuesday and Ertugral is already under the microscope after losing to arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs, where he enjoyed two stints as coach in previous years.
The pre-season also saw him lose to league champions Mamelodi Sundowns in a tournament played in Namibia. But he somewhat atoned for those losses by beating Platinum Stars on penalties last weekend in Rustenburg.
“What we always ask our coaches and players we bring to the team is this question: How are you going to help us improve the history of Pirates?' For us it is not about being in the top three, that counts for nothing. It is what we do with our history,” said Khoza.
“We are celebrating 80 years next year and we are going to be reliving history and looking back at the contribution made by others over the years, “ Khoza said.
“Does Ertugral have a mandate? Yes, to improve the history of this giant of a football club. Let me put it this way, we didn’t win silverware last season, but we reached the final of the CAF Confederation Cup, beating all the top teams. That is history. We want silverware of course, but you can achieve history in so many ways.”
Pirates last won the domestic championship in 2012, a season in which they won two other cup competitions to clinch the treble. They had done so a year earlier under Ruud Krol and still made a coaching change, with the depth in the squad helping them carry that momentum through.
Khoza has gone shopping once again, bringing in as many as 12 players and letting a few go. Ertugral thrived at Aces, a club which was bought by John Comitis, renamed Cape Town City and relocated to the Mother City, last season and could have perhaps done better than finishing fourth - ahead of both Pirates and Chiefs - had key players not been out of action halfway through the season. The perception is that at Pirates, with better quality players and a winning culture, he is poised for success.
“Our history is more of a valuable asset that anything else. That is one of the key pillars of a brand, otherwise the lifespan will not be sustainable. People who come up against us also want to emulate our achievements for them to remain relevant,” Khoza explained.
@superjourno
The Star