Moorosi Tsiane
BANTU coach Bob Mafoso has said he is happy to have a star-studded team although it is expensive to maintain.
Mafoso said this after the return of Bokang Sello whose move to South Africa’s DStv Premiership side Golden Arrows collapsed at the last minute and was forced to rejoin Bantu this month.
At the beginning of the season Bantu signed Thabang Klass, Lebohang Sheleng, Kamogelo Wolf, Setho Moshoeshoe. Johannes Molapo and Jane Tšotleho.
Moshoeshoe, Tšotleho and Klass were roped in to fill in positions left by Lehlohonolo Fothoane, Thabo Lesaoana and Thabiso Lichaba who were linked with LMPS while Molapo, Sheleng and Wolf were signed as replacements for Tsietsi Khooa and Sello who were all bound to join Chippa United.
As things stand, Lichaba, Lesaoana and Fothoane are still with Bantu and it is still unclear whether or not they will end up joining the police outfit.
And on Friday Mafoso told the Sunday Express that while having a star-studded squad causes headaches, it was a better issue to deal with than failing to have players completely.
“Top players don’t want to lose matches, they only aspire to win, so the good thing about having a star-studded team is that the standard will always be high the team will always have an edge,” Mafoso said.
“I have worked with many teams and I can tell you that all of them always wanted to win the league, so there is always a headache when you are a coach. I would struggle to select a team from a huge pool of talented players than struggle to come up with 11 players due to lack of quality.”
He said biggest challenge in having a star-studded squad was that they all want to play and the coach must always try to balance.
“It is challenging to keep all of them happy because everyone believes they are better than their competitors, so they all want to play. So, a coach must find ways of keeping them happy because they will all be working hard. You must convince them to play as a team instead of as individuals.
“Once one gets a chance, they make sure to cement their place because they know it won’t be easy to get game time again.”
He however, said having a squad filled with stars was also expensive for the club.
“We signed these players because we thought some of our players were leaving but unfortunately, they are still here. So, we are left with this big expensive squad to maintain, especially during this Covid-19 period when the economy has taken a knock,” Mafoso said.