NEW Ajax Cape Town head coach Muhsin Ertugral will not make wholesale changes or rush into the January transfer window but is confident he can again rescue the club from relegation.
Ertugral starts his fourth stint as the Urban Warriors head coach today when he take his first training session after being named to replace former Dutch international goalkeeper Stanley Menzo last Thursday.
The Turkish born Ertugral will hit the ground running and believes he will be able to save Ajax from the relegation axe for a second time. The Urban Warriors are second bottom of the Absa Premiership on 13 points from 14 matches.
Ertugral saved the club in the 2012-13 season when heanswered a late SOS: “We had four games left when I was asked to take charge. It looked bad but we managed to survive. We finished in the top eight the following season.”
Ertugral took Ajax to three cup finals including winning the Absa Cup in 2007.
However, the former Orlando Pirates mentor is concerned about the fact Ajax had scored only 10 goals in 14 matches and conceded 16.
Said Ertugral: “I will be looking at fixing our defensive structure and our finishing. But I have never been a fan of the January transfer window. It’s rare you find top players available at this time.
“I believe we have plenty of top class young talent at Ajax. If we can get maybe one or two more players to strengthen the squad that will be fine but I’m not going to buy just for the sake of it.”
He said that while the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs are the locomotives that drive SA soccer, clubs like Ajax were important to Mzansi soccer.
Explained Ertugral: “Over the years Ajax have produced a lot of top class players for this country.
“There is a wealth of talent in Cape Town and Ajax has been at the fore-front of harnessing that talent.
“I’m confident we have enough good players at the club without having to go into the transfer market.”