Venda Football Academy (VFA) head coach Michael Loftman says he is proud of his players for their effort in Tuesday’s Motsepe Foundation Championship defeat to Polokwane City/
However, he conceded there is still work to do to get up to full speed.
VFA succumbed to a 1-0 loss to the in-form Rise and Shine in the Limpopo derby at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Loftman, who once coached Orlando Pirates’ MDC side insists he is strong enough to cope with the pressure of his side’s dismal run as they lost their second game of the season.
The former coach and analyst at Lommel SK admitted that he has to shoulder the responsiblity for the team’s inconsistent run in the league.
However, adamant he still retains the backing of his players.
“As I was saying to the players, it’s very difficult to say what really happened,” Loftman told FARPost in a post-match interview.
“I think the professional thing I can say is that the players played extremely well and fought very hard.
“I’m very proud of them for what they put in today after everything that went against them.”
LOFTMAN’S RED CARD REACTION…
In the 31st minute of the showdown, Ricardo Versuur was sent off after receiving his second yellow card of the day.
“Look, it wasn’t just a red card, there were multiple cards in the game before. I think from the first few minutes the players were under pressure and made them getting booked.
“The bookings made it very difficult for our players as they couldn’t touch their opponents in order to avoid getting sent off.
“But it’s part of the football so we just get over it and move on.”
TUESDAY’s RESULTS
JDR Stars 6-0 Magesi
Polokwane City 1-0 VFA
Casric Stars 0-0 All Stars
Source Link Loftman backs VFA players after defeat to PLK City