Johanneburg – Former Bafana Bafana captain and long-time coach of Free State Stars Steve Komphela was dismissed on Sunday night as a veritable spate of mid-season coaching upheavals continued in the PSL.
This was revealed on the Free State club's website and confirmed by club general manager Lebohang Maketa.
Komphela was widely considered one of the shrewdest and most respected coaches in the PSL and became synonymous with Stars after transforming them into a force to be reckoned with during four largely successful years with the Free State club.
Stars, however, have failed to come up to expecations during the current season, winning only three of their 11 Premier League games and losing five of them, slipping to 11th position in the log as a consequence.
Komphela has also enjoyed success as the South African under-23 coach and an assistant coach of Bafana, being in the running to take over from the deposed Pitso Mosimane when Gordon Igesund got the job instead.
“This is a sad occasion,” said Maketa, “but the club had mapped out objectives for the present season that have simply not been fulfilled, with no signs of the situation getting any better.
“Steve has been a tower of strength with us,” added the Stars general manager, “and he achieved many notable things. But we felt in the present climate it would be better all round if we parted ways.”
The final straw leading to the parting of the club and coach who seemed indelibly tied to each other appeared to be the 2-0 Premier League defeat at the hands of Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday despite their imposing record of rarely losing while playing at home. – Sapa