Lamontville Golden Arrows coach Mabhuti Khenyeza says what has worked in his favour at the club to see the continuity of doing well is because he knows the background of the players.
Khenyeza was thrust into the football limelight last month after his co-coach Vusi Vilakazi resigned to join Chippa United as the technical director.
Arrows chairperson Mato Madlala opted not to bring someone outside new and felt Khenyeza was ready to steer the ship with Musa Bilankulu as his assistant coach.
Khenyeza, since he was given the post, has picked up seven points – drawing with Stellenbosch FC at home, beating bottom side Cape Town Spurs away and Sekhukhune United also away, to perch second in the DStv Premiership table with 17 points after eight matches, five behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
“People might say I’m new because I don’t have a tummy,” Khenyeza laughed.
“But all in all, I have played in a professional set-up for 15 years. I understand everything, not only about playing but even the background of players where they are coming from, the culture of the players because those things are important when you are dealing with (local) players, their upbringing – that for me is not something new.
“I always say if someone comes from Europe and they can do it here, we already have a big advantage because sometimes you coach a player that you knew when he was still 10 years old – where you know his family, where you know the ups and downs of the player.
“I can be new here (in the top flight as a head coach) but the player may not be new to me at all because I have been involved in the system.
“Most of the coaches here (in the DStv Premiership) coached me before, I know what they were coaching us before. When they are facing me, I can deal with what they were coaching us which is something different.
“If you have been involved in football, you will always remember and rely on such things.”
Khenyeza is also a legend in SA football, having scored over 100 PSL goals including the quickest goal (19 seconds) in the Soweto Derby with Chiefs against Orlando Pirates in November 2007, and also played for Sundowns and SuperSport United respectively, which has gone a long way in getting a buy-in from the players.
Arrows will look to keep its five games unbeaten when they host Kaizer Chiefs, Khenyeza’s former club, at Mpumalanga Stadium on 28 October.
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The game was set to take place at 20:00 but has now been moved to 15:30 due to flood lights not in place at the venue.
