By Monwabisi Jimlongo
Owen da Gama appreciates the time he spends with his TS Galaxy players after joining the team in January following the sacking of Zipho Dlangalala, who was the club’s caretaker coach.
Dlangalala was appointed interim coach after Daniel ‘Dance’ Malesela, who now coaches Chippa United, was fired from the Rockets in December.
Da Gama didn’t have a good start as Rockets coach. He lost his first game to the Chilli Boys at the Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, in January.
“I think I have learnt to understand the situation at the club. I’m adapting well, but as you know football is a process,” Da Gama said.
“I know most of these players. I worked with most of them before. I think the most important thing is to be honest and fair to all the players. Play players in their right positions. Try to understand the strengths of each an every player.”
Da Gama has collected seven points from a possible 12 since joining the Rockets in January. The only blemish is the 1-0 loss to the Chilli Boys.
The Rockets now get a chance to avenge that defeat as they face the Chilli Boys at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday (15h30).
“Look, they beat us. It was my first game at the team. I was only here for a week then,” the former Highlands Park coach said.
“I think Chippa have travelled a lot and have done very well. And coach Dance is a very, very good coach. But in saying that we’ve got our own agendas and we know what we want to achieve. We take every game as professional as possible.”
The Rockets are 11th on the DStv Premiership standings with 15 points from 14 matches while the Chilli Boys are two places below with 14 points gained from 15 games.
