UNIVERSITY of Pretoria coach Shaun Bartlett is nothing if not optimistic!
Borrowing John Lennon’s Imagine lyrics, you may say he’s a dreamer, but he’s not the only one!
Bartlett and his charges remain convinced that they are capable of bouncing back to the Absa Premiership.
This is despite the Tshwane outfit’s poor start to the current National First Division (NFD) season.
The reason why Bartlett lives in hope is because he remembers his days at Golden Arrows, where they took relegation in their stride and immediately bounced back to the PSL after just one season in the first division.
But expecting AmaTuks to repeat the feat may be too much to ask, considering that table-topplers Thanda Royal Zulu have yet to lose a match – and have a 14-point lead on Bartlett’s side. AmaTuks are ninth in the table.
In second place are Royal Eagles, followed by Witbank Spurs and AmaZulu, who are currently all in contention for the play-offs spots at the end of the season.
This means Bartlett’s charges would have to dig very deep to find the treasure pot.
The best thing for Bartlett to do to get to that pot of gold is to source new talent for the second round starting on 11 February.
“We’re eyeing at least four experienced players,” said the former Bafana Bafana star.
“We gave away too many silly goals in the first round (conceding 22 in 15 matches) and didn’t show a killer instinct (scoring only 19).”
“The goal of bouncing back to the PSL as soon as possible has not changed, I still believe we stand a chance. We are only four points behind the second placed team (Eagles),” said Bartlett.
- Meanwhile, Mthatha Bucks, who recently parted ways with coach Velile Dyaloyi, confirmed the appointment yesterday of former Chippa United mentor Ian Palmer as their new head coach.
