Johannesburg — Steve Komphela, who has taken over the head coach position at Swallows FC, is delighted to be back in the “mainstream of coaching” and is eager to help make the country’s elite league more exciting and less predictable.
Having spent three years at Mamelodi Sundowns, where he shared the coaching duties with two other coaches, Komphela returns to taking sole charge with the intention of helping put pressure on his dominant, former club.
“It is an exciting project because it throws you back again in the mainstream of coaching,” he told IOL Sport, in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.
“I am not trying to say one was not in mainstream, but now I can solely be part of those people who are bringing excitement in the league. To be honest, it won’t be about changing the narrative of Sundowns being the dominant team in the league.
“There’s enough teams punching close to Sundowns’ weaknesses, it will create an element of hope and it elevates everyone. As Sundowns go high, there’s indirect and invisible growth in the league because everyone says, ‘let’s catch up with them’.”
Komphela said the decision to join Swallows was triggered by “my circumstances at Sundowns”.
“People who initiated the talks were (Gauteng) Premier Panyaza (Lesufi) and the club chairman David Mogashoa. My contract with Sundowns was three years plus one, the year of an option.
“But with the head coach (Rhulani Mokwena) wanting his own people, you got a feeling you are not going to be part of the plans going forward. Thus, the Swallows adventure became appealing.”
Komphela, who has previously coached Kaizer Chiefs, Golden Arrows, Maritzburg United as well as the defunct Manning Rangers and Free State Stars, has a one-year contract with the Birds.
“Short-term contracts are part of football. Even those who sign a 10-year contract, there’s no certainty.
“It could work both ways – because you want to impress you can complete the year with aplomb and get it extended. With a long-term contract, the danger is that if fills you with hope that you have a job, whereas a short-term says you don’t have a job after this and work hard to pull off a miracle.”
Can he pull off a miracle and help make Swallows one of the league’s top teams?
“You have to be realistic and acknowledge that you do not have a three-year term to be slow in your process of making a change. So, the impact has to be immediate but unfortunately in football you don’t get that. “The team has not performed to the best of their expected abilities in the past season so we have to improve where we are at and there are a few things that have a direct impact on that. I have to do my SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis quickly and urgently and get a move on.
“I look at this and ask myself, can I be part of the people who are willing to kick dust in the league? Can I be one of those bringing excitement in the league?
“Of course, I want to be.
“The PSL is very strong and it is all our responsibility to make the brand as premium as it is. I am excited that there’s a Molefi Ntseki there; there is a Steve Komphela here, and there’s an Eric Tinkler there. “So, the league must never be boring. It must be full of uncertainty. It must trigger intense conversations because it determines the level of the nation’s excitement.”
No doubt the best way for him to contribute to that is to get Swallows back to being among those challenging for honours in the league.
IOL Sport
