Moorosi Tsiane
NEWLY-APPOINTED LMPS coach Mosito Matela says his charges’ prolific performances so far this season were down to hard work and playing as a team.
Simunye went into the match against Rovers yesterday in second position on the 14-team league table with 10 points. They trailed league leaders Kick4Life by two points with four matches played.
Matela told the Sunday Express in an interview this week they were working as a unit hence the positive results.
“I can say so far so good, although we are not yet where we want to be. There remains a lot of work to do with this team, but we had good preseason preparations that helped us to work on the combinations,” he said.
“For the past four or five seasons, LMPS has been fighting relegation and this year we want to change that.”
The police outfit are only the team that went into this weekend’s matches having yet to concede a goal, and the former Bantu technical director also heaped praise on his backline.
“It’s no secret we have the best central defence pairing in this league in Nkau Lerotholi and Basia Makepe. They have been doing such a wonderful job making sure we don’t concede,” said Matela.
“But like I said, it is all down to team work. I have no stars in this team, and everyone works hard while also being very disciplined. That’s because I only work with players who are willing to deliver.
“We go into every match with a plan to win. How many goals we score is not much of a concern for me as long as we get the valuable three points. Scoring lots of goals is a bonus.”
Matela indicated the arrival of Makepe at the start of the current season brought in much-needed balance to the backline and was also a motivation to his charges.
“Makepe is one of the best defenders in the country with his experience. His playing alongside Nkau is a motivating factor to my team which has made my job easier,” he said.
“We are hoping to win as many games as we can in the first round and see what will happen in the second round. We are very mindful of the fact it is not going to be an easy campaign.”
The gaffer said he would primarily focus on his charges and not on other teams.
“I know it is easier to win the league title if a team starts well and Kick4Life are on a good run. But that is not worrying me because my focus is on ensuring LMPS does well, and who knows, maybe we can relieve Lioli of their premiership title,” said Matela.
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