An unrepentant Chippa United chairman Siviwe ‘Chippa’ Mpengesi does not see anything wrong with firing Serbian-born coach Vladislav Heric just two games before the end of the season.
The impatient Mpengesi, who fires coaches at will, stuck to his guns and said that Heric was not the best coach to save the Gqeberha-based club from going down.
Mpengesi axed Heric after the Chilli Boys’ 2-1 loss to Bloemfontein Celtic in Mdantsane on Tuesday. The Chilli Boys are 15th on the DStv Premiership standings with 25 points from 28 matches.
In an interview with Umhlobo Wenenefm’s BEE on Thursday, Mpengesi revealed that he gave Heric the chop after the Serbian allegedly refused assistance, which he said they offered to him.
“Let me make it clear that losing to Celtic on Tuesday caused a lot of damage to our team in so much that our fate is not in our hands now. It all depends on how TTM (Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila), Stellenbosch and Maritzburg do in their matches,” Mpengesi said.
“We as Chippa United management have accepted our position. We have started preparing for the play-offs. We decided to look at the play-offs and also looked at the coach’s record in the NFD. We found out that he relegated two clubs. He started with Ajax (Cape Town Spurs) this season, look where they are now. They might get relegated on Sunday. We suggested bringing somebody to assist him. He refused and we decided to let him go after that.”
Heric was in charge in five Premiership matches, winning twice, drawing two and losing one. He was also on the bench when the Chilli Boys lost to TTM in the Nedbank Cup final.
“We are very much grateful for the eight points he brought to us. Tuesday’s match was our only hope of getting three points. If you watched the match, you could see that we had a chance of winning it. When you fight relegation, fancy football means nothing. You score and close the shop,” Mpengesi moaned.
Ngqamakhwe-born Mpengesi dismissed claims that they were selecting the team for Heric. He said they only voiced their opinions.
“It’s not true that we selected the team for him. We don’t do that at Chippa United. We don’t go to the dressing room and tell the coach which players to use. Of course, we have opinions as we know football,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lehlohonolo Seema whom Mpengesi sacked earlier this season is back at the Chilli Boys after he was fired by Black Leopards last week.
The former Lesotho national team captain has been tasked with saving the team from finishing in a play-off spot or making sure that they survive during the play-offs. The Chilli Boys are left with matches against TTM and SuperSport United.
