Leemisa Thuseho
LIPHAKOE coach Teele Ntšonyana’s future at the club is uncertain as the management is yet to engage him over a contract extension despite his contract ending last month.
Ntšonyane joined the Quthing outfit in January this year on a six months contract to replace Thabo Tšutšulupa.
Liphakoe communications and marketing manager Tau Sebatli confirmed that Ntšonyana’s contract has expired and they were yet to decide his future.
“The management hasn’t decided anything and no negotiations have been held after the expiration of his contract last month,” Sebatli said.
“Since we don’t yet know the dates for the 2020/21 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we can’t rush into making decisions that involve money.”
However, Ntšonyana said while nothing definitive has be agreed with the team yet, they have agreed in principle that he will continue at the club.
“We haven’t reached the final decision but we already have an agreement in principle,” Ntšonyana said.
When he joined Liphakoe in January, the team was in 11th in the log standings and he had maintained the same spot when football activities were banned in March. It looked certain that the side was headed for relegation had it not be for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite sitting dangerously close to the bottom of the league table, Ntšonyana insists that his arrival at the team had made positive strides.
“Statistics do not lie… when I arrived at the team, they had only five goals scored in the entire first half of the season. But when the season was halted, we had scored 13 goals. For me, that was a positive change.”
He said they were determined to improve their standings in the log standings so that they can maintain they league status.
“I know it wasn’t going to be easy but we were ready to fight,” Ntšonyana stated.
Meanwhile, so far Liphakoe has failed to retain the services of its four players for the next season. Wing back Thabo Matšoele left the team and joined former premier league champions Matlama last month.
This month, the club also lost its captain Tlotliso Tumahole who joined Lijabatho. Midfielder Tšeole Ranthimo has also signed for Linare.
After a six months’ spell with Liphakoe, defender Patrick Nyarko also left the maroon and gold outfit for Lioli.
Ntšonyana said this mass exodus was posing a huge threat to team.
“This is a huge threat because players are the lifeline of any team. Loosing that number of key players means the team is bleeding and it is at risk, but I hope the management is already taking measures to address the issue,” Ntšonyana said.