JOHANNESBURG – Chippa United coach Teboho Moloi says he never undermined the head coach during his time on the Orlando Pirates technical team.
Moloi was the Buccaneers assistant coach between 2011 and 2015. During his tenure, there had been regular speculation in the media that as an insider - a former Bucs player - he had more influence and power than his position warranted.
He served alongside former Bucs head coaches Julio Leal, Augusto Palacios, Roger De Sa, Vladimir Vermezovic and Eric Tinkler.
The 49-year-old has admitted that his passion for the team meant he was never going to take a back seat, but has dismissed talk that he undermined or even sabotaged the head coach at Pirates.
“When I was an assistant I always used to see myself as a coach because I'd also bark instructions, and it would be seen as I'm saying something different to the coach, but I still maintain that I grew up in that [Pirates] team.
“When you grew up in your house, how can you stand up from having lunch and go to the corner and piss there, instead of using the bathroom?”
“I would never give an instruction that was against what the coach wanted or that was not beneficial for Pirates to win at that time,” Moloi said at the PSL offices on Monday, where he was named as the league’s Coach of the Month for November.
He did however admit that he is “the most difficult person to deal with, especially when it came to Orlando Pirates because I grew up there, I understand the culture and everything.”
The Bafana-capped former midfielder joined Chippa last season as assistant to Dan Malesela, but took over the head coach role after Malesela departed in September, and he was on a 10-match unbeaten run in the league with the Chilli Boys before Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Ajax Cape Town.
Moloi says that the challenges he faces now as the main man at Chippa were never part of his job at Pirates.
“I knew that whatever I was doing then was in the best interest of the team, so I don't know now [at Chippa] whether it's different from there or not.
“The only thing I can tell is you different is that I have to be in the office now, like I was asked [by the media], 'Coach, how many players do you think you're going to reinforce?'
“I never used to make those decisions – the financial decisions, travelling, replacements and all that – and now I have to put my head on the block.”