Davids – We Can’t Relax Despite 3 Wins On The Bounce

Maritzburg United coach Fadlu Davids has insisted his side can’t relax, as three wins on the bounce is just a “first step” in the right direction.

The Team of Choice battled with being at the bottom of the log for much of the first round of the season, but have quickly moved up since the appointment of Davids in November last year.

Former Mamelodi Sundowns striker Ali Meza scored in the dying minute of added time to see Maritzburg record their third successive league win after beating a wasteful Golden Arrows side at Princess Magogo Stadium on Saturday.

That win followed another against Royal AM last weekend and before that Davids picked his first win against bottom side Marumo Gallants, with the new coach having lost just one of four matches in charge – a 2-1 home defeat against TS Galaxy before the turn of the year.

The latest win over Arrows has seen the Team of Choice climb up the table, jumping to 11th with 20 points after 17 matches, three points ahead of being sucked back in the relegation zone, leading Davids to throw in a caution.

“I liked the fight, I liked grit, I liked the never-say-die attitude from the players,” she said.

“But still a lot of work to do because we are only three points off the bottom and this is only the first step.”

Davids added Maritzburg were not bad under John Maduka, the man he replaced, but they are not at the level that satisfies him, as his game is built on intensity from the start to finish.

The former Orlando Pirates co-head coach learnt this from his former coach and friend Ernst Middendorp, who is a big believer in the conditioning and periodisation of the players as that is a key part of his game’s success.         

“We cannot relax now, we still have a long way to go,” cautioned Davids, who helped the club to their maiden Nedbank Cup final in the 2017/18 season where they lost to Free State Stars.

“We are three points from the bottom, but actually we are two points because our goal difference is a disaster (-10).

“Anyone who gets the same points as us we go below them.

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“We’re actually two points below them because of the situation we are in. We have to try to bring that goal difference down, because our target is to get to 30 points as quickly as possible.”  

Maritzburg next visit Chippa United on 29 January at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, where they will come face-to-face with former player Kurt Lentjies.