CAPE TOWN – Promising young Cape Town coach Fadlu Davids is continuing to absorb the knowledge and information of the learning environment provided by Orlando Pirates.
Just 38-years-old, Davids impressed during a spell as head coach of Maritzburg United two seasons ago. He inspired the KZN side to fourth position on the Premiership standings and runners-up in the Nedbank Cup. But things did not go too well subsequently and he was axed as Maritzburg coach in January 2019.
But the impression he had left during his stint at the club was a hint of his potential as a coach. Pirates then took full advantage of Davids’ availability and, soon after, asked him to join their technical staff as an assistant coach.
He now finds himself as part of a highly-prized coaching triumvirate, which also includes Serbian head coach Micho Sredojevic and another highly-touted assistant, Rhulani Mokwena.
The trio have already been hard at work ahead of the start of the new Premiership season. A training camp in Rustenburg in the North West has already been completed.
Now they have a few friendly games lined up as they prepare for their first big test – the Carling Black Label Cup clash against Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium on July 27.
Davids explained some of the thoughts behind the team’s pre-season preparations.
“The objective of pre-season is to prepare the team and get them playing in a particular way,” said Davids in an interview on the club’s official website.
“It is also an opportunity for us to try out some new things and assess the effectiveness of a few new tactical modifications we have added.
“As for the results, it isn’t our priority for now because we are still working on a process, but so far it has been encouraging.”
Davids said that, as coaches, he, Sredojevic and Mokwena were using the training programme and the friendlies as tools to gauge just where they are at as a team.
“We’re in a great football environment where the team can focus fully on the task at hand,” said the Capetonian.
“We got some good information from the first friendly (against NFD side TS Sporting) and we are now looking to the next game.
“It’s all about small progressions and addressing the things we’ve picked up from the previous match.”
As far as squad news is concerned, in addition to new acquisitions such as Malawian Gabadinho Mhango, French goalkeeper Joris Delle, Fortune Makaringe and Siphesihle Ndlovu, Pirates are also hoping to cash in on Zambian forward Justin Shonga.
The 22-year-old Shonga has been the subject of much transfer speculation after reported interest from Egyptian giants Al Ahly and Tanzanian Premier League champions Simba SC.
The new PSL season is a few weeks away and Pirates will open their campaign with a home match against Bloemfontein Celtic at the Orlando Stadium on August 3.