JOHANNESBURG – Jozef Vukusic admits he hasn’t lived up to his lofty billing as AmaZulu’s coach but he’s confident he still has the support of the management and players.
Fresh from inspiring Polokwane City to their highest finish on the log standings (fifth) and points accumulated in a season, Vukusic found himself a wanted man in the South African domestic league.
He then ruffled feathers by tendering in his resignation at Rise and Shine at the end of the season in June, amid speculation that he had suitors here and abroad.
Locally, Usuthu were the front-runners for the Slovakian’s signature; subsequently landing their man after sacking Cavin Johnson, who had endured a five-game winless streak during the start of the term.
However, to say Vukusic has brought a breath of fresh air to the team would not be accurate. Instead, Usuthu are languishing in the basement of the Premiership standings with a paltry 17-point tally after 20 games.
And that should be a source of concern for the “Zulu Nation” considering that the team was relegated to the GladAfrica Championship six seasons ago, while two campaigns later, they re-surfaced back to the elite league after buying the status of newly-promoted side Thanda Royal Zulu.
The 49-year-old coach might be treading on thin ice but he’s not pressing the panic button just yet, saying they’ll avoid the drop as they’ll treat the next 10 league matches as cup finals.
“This year, we didn’t have a good start in the league, (after four losses and one draw). It’s true that we’ve had similar games like today, where the performance was good but the result wasn’t,” Vukusic said after their 1-0 away loss to Orlando Pirates on Saturday.
“This is the situation that we find ourselves. But I don’t feel that I am alone in that battle. The management, technical team and players are also responding and we are doing good work (in our bid to get out of the relegation quagmire).”
Usuthu’s issues stem from the fact that they depend on individuals to carry the team. If it wasn't for goalkeeper Siyabonga Mbatha, the Durban-based side would have lost by a wider margin in Soweto.
In the bigger scheme of things though, the fact that they still have a glimmer of hope that they can avoid the chop is largely due to the efforts of striker Bonginkosi Ntuli, who’s scored 10 of his team’s 11 goals in the league this season.
“I don’t care if he (Ntuli) scores in the next 10 matches and nobody else scores. Our game is like that, where we play on the wings and combinations,” Vukuisic said.
Vukusic, however, after understanding the detrimental effects of his comments, quickly changed the tone of his response and cut a cautious figure.
“I don’t care who’ll score the goals.
“But, of course, we have other players who can score. And they must contribute more on that. But this season, Ntuli has been scoring.
We’ve brought in Siphelele Magubane and Milos Lacny and we still have (Lehlohonolo) Majoro,” he concluded.