Richards Bay head coach Vasili Manousakis admits Brandon Truter’s decision to get rid of him and Moeneeb Josephs took him by surprise at AmaZulu.
Truter succeeded Benni McCarthy at Usuthu and had big shoes to fill after the Bafana Bafana legend finished as league runners-up and qualified for the CAF Champions League group stages.
While he did enough to earn the job on a permanent basis after initially taking over in a caretaker capacity, the decision to rope in Kamaal Sait and Johan Abselon, both of whom were fired alongside ‘Brakkies’ this past week was something that the Natal Richboyz boss didn’t expect but understood.
“Was I surprised to leave AmaZulu? Yes, I had a year on my contract, the same as Moeneeb Josephs, we got a call in the off-season that it was the end of the road. Truter wanted his own technical staff which we accepted happens in football,” Manousakis admitted before hailing his new Chairman.
“I was fortunate and blessed that I didn’t have too much time to think about it because as a coach you start to think what next and Chairman Jomo Biyela called me, what an unbelievable man.
“His presence, his vision, he understands the game and is a fantastic businessman, he is so calm and said this is what he wants to do and he ideas and I said I’ll see you for pre-season and that’s how it happened.”
The newly promoted side have the chance to move ahead of league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns if they beat Kwa-Zulu Natal rivals Maritzburg United on Saturday at the King Zwelithini Stadium.
