AmaZulu coach Brandon Truter looked like a man who had water poured over him after his side lost 1-0 to Richards Bay at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Wednesday, saying he’s living on borrowed time if “I can’t turn things around.”
To make matters worse, this was Usuthu’s third league loss on the bounce and fourth in the last five games.
This has seen Usuthu, from fourth place, drop to ninth on the log table with 11 points after nine games.
After the game, Truter struggled to utter words when he was asked to sum up the match, staying quietly for close to a minute before he spoke.
“Its derbies you don’t want to lose and you feel it,” said Truter.
“This result, I’m not happy about it, even the supporters, the owners are not happy about it. It is pressure on myself to win the games now. So I don’t take it lightly, I feel it and the players do feel it as well.
“We come to matches with the will to win and with the intention to win. The desire was there, but we switched off at the vital stage of the game, conceding an unnecessary free kick and then they scored.”
Usuthu general manager Tshepiso Mofokeng was seen throwing his hands in the air in disgust, speaking to the club team manager Qedi Dlamini, a clear indication that Truter’s days are numbered and the club is not happy with the latest results.
“Right now I’m not feeling well, not feeling well at all, not feeling happy. I feel a bit of pressure,” Truter added.
“At the same time, Duke, maybe if we won tonight we would have gone to second on the table. But now we are feeling the pressure. So it could have gone either way. But look, we definitely have a top four team but results are not forthcoming at the moment.
“We have proven it to be in the semi final of the MTN8 and now in the Black Label Cup. But things are so tight at the moment on the log that it can be anybody’s game.”
Usuthu next visit Orlando Pirates at Orlando Stadium on 14 October.
However, AmaZulu have not defeated Pirates away since August 2013, stretching to seven matches, which means they will have to work hard to beat Pirates who hardly lose at home.
