AmaZulu defender and stand-in captain Ramahlwe Mphahlele has insisted that the players, current coach Ayanda Dlamini and former coaches Brandon Truter and Romain Folz all have to share the blame for the club’s demise this season.
The former Kaizer Chiefs defender says they are not happy to see the club from Durban languishing in the bottom part of the table, which is far away from president Sandile Zungu’s target of top four and their second spot from the 2020/21 campaign.
Usuthu started 2022/23 with Brandon Truter on the sidelines after he was given a permanent deal, having replaced Benni McCarthy in March last year.
He led Usuthu into the top eight spot and the semi-final of the MTN8, but departed in October. Then the club turned to Romain Folz, who at the time had not won a single match in the DStv Premiership during his brief spell at Marumo Gallants at the start of the season.
However, the club’s struggles continued with Folz only winning just four out of 19 games and also clashing with the some of the big players, and somewhat losing the dressing room, which led to him being re-deployed as the president’s “technical advisor”.
After Folz, Ayanda Dlamini was given the responsibility of saving Usuthu and trying to lead them back into the top eight on the caretaker basis until the season ends.
“We are all responsible for this, it is not only coach Ayanda and the other coaches who have departed like Brandon Truter and Romain Folz, we are all responsible, we all should get the team in the better place on the log,” Mphahlele said recently.
“We have let the team down at some stage. We are not happy and it is not a secret. But we want to do better, we want to get the points.”
Dlamini reversed some of Folz’s decisions by calling Mphahlele, Keagan Buchanan and Lehlohonolo Majoro back after they were discarded by the French coach and his changes have given Usuthu some new life.
In the four matches under Dlamini, Usuthu have picked up five points, including snatching a point after coming from two goals down in a 2-2 draw with Mamelodi Sundowns last week Wednesday.
Mphahlele rallied Usuthu back in the last two matches, scoring two goals in each of them to make it three this season, the highest goal return in his career, repaying the faith of the coach Dlamini for calling him back.
The oldest club in the division is currently lying in 11th position on the log with 33 points after 28 matches, and have at least secured their stay in the top flight as neither Maritzburg (26 points and two games left), nor Marumo Gallants (29 points and one game left) could catch them.
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Usuthu next visits Golden Arrows at Princess Magogo Stadium on Saturday (15:30).
