Richards Bay have reached their primary target for the season, hitting the 30-point mark and putting themselves well clear of any potential of relegation in their debut season.
That tally, based on previous seasons, is the minimum requirement to avoid the drop from the DStv Premiership and according to co-coach Vasili Manousakis the first objective for the newly promoted side, although he feels in this topsy-turvy season they might need just a few more points to make 100% sure.
Once that is achieved, they will then re-set their targets for the rest of the season but hope to keep up the surprise impact they have made in their debut top-flight season.
The history of the Premier Soccer League is littered with unfashionable clubs finding themselves among the frontrunners in the first half of the season but then fading away as the rigours of the second part of the campaign begin to toll.
Richards Bay are this year’s surprise package and with their 30-point haul sit in second place, albeit significantly behind runaway leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
But Manousakis says the club are well aware of the pitfalls that face them. “When you start speaking about the top six, then the wheels start coming off. So let’s get our first target. It’s a tricky season.”
Manousakis says their success has been built on a number of key factors. “The first thing is realistic expectations from the chairman, who didn’t demand we must be in the top four, or whatever.
“The second thing is that there’s a group of players here that wanted to improve, to get better and that are coachable. They perform like they do every week in training, which is remarkable. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, they are no egos in this team, not within the players, not within the technical team, not within the management,” he explained.
“And when that foundation is set, there’s a little bit of pressure off your shoulders.”
“Obviously a good start helps everything because if it wasn’t a good start, then you know, it becomes a little bit challenging.
“And then there are a whole lot of heroes in this team, all of them, but there are some gems that have been uncovered. So, I think it’s coming together nicely from a group of players that are willing and able to put the work that makes the big difference,” he added.
Players like goalkeeper Jamal Salim, defender Tshepo Mabua and midfielder Mpho Mathebula have all made a strong impression and their on-loan left back from Mamelodi Sundowns, 21-year-old Siyanda Msani, already in the reckoning for a place in the Bafana Bafana squad.
Photo by Thabang Lepule/BackpagePix
