NOT many coaches in the PSL are as brutally frank as Luc Eymael.
The Free State Stars mentor has been accused of lacking diplomacy – of not necessarily acting with utmost decorum when he conducts interviews.
But the Belgian simply does not hide behind platitudes, he always wears his heart on his sleeve and is happy to share his team’s tactics with the public.
As their crunch Nedbank Cup semifinal duel with Kaizer Chiefs approaches, Eymael was hard at work at a training session yesterday.
He is expecting a much tougher match at Moses Mabhida Stadium than the teams’ recent league encounter which they lost 1-0 to Chiefs.
“It’s part of my personality, you know,” said Eymael. “I am like that. I speak very frankly. You can see that even in my training sessions. Sometimes people don’t appreciate it,” he concedes.
“But even the nicest guys can’t please everybody. I’m happy to do my job.”
Eymael doesn’t coddle his players, with his sessions frequently as intense as the actual match situation.
“You can see how hard these boys work, hey,” he quipped.
“How many would have bet R100 on Free State Stars going into the semifinal of a cup competition this season? How many would have bet on us avoiding relegation with two months left? How many would have bet on Stars finishing in the top eight?
“Now it is David versus Goliath this weekend, we’re competing against (Itumeleng) Khune, (Willard) Katsande, (Leo) Castro, Eric Mathoho and (Siphiwe) Tshabalala. Can you imagine the difference?
“But it’s not by chance that the boys have reached the semifinals. We will use our own experience. . . Paulus Masehe. I have confidence in them.”
Patrick Phungwayo insisted no one has the upper hand ahead of the semifinals.
It’s about who wants it more on the day and he believes Ea Lla Koto are capable of reaching the final.
The left back has won the Ke Yona Cup before with Bidvest Wits and Orlando Pirates, and Stars will rely heavily on his experience.
