Mbombela United are set to travel to Limpopo to face Black Leopards in a National First Division (NFD) encounter without their head coach, Vusi Mkhatshwa.
Tingwenyama will face Lidoda Duvha at Thohoyandou Stadium this coming Saturday. Kick-off is 15:30.
Stanley Manana, United manager, could not deny nor confirm to Mpumalanga News whether Mkhatshwa was still at the helm of the local side or not.
“I’m at home as I speak to you right now. Just like many people, I have heard through the media that the coach has left Mbombela United. What I can officially confirm is that the coach (Mkhatshwa) left immediately after our game against Jomo Cosmos, saying he was attending a coaching course in Tshwane,” Manana told Mpumalanga News on Tuesday.
This publication could not get hold of Mkhatshwa at the time of going to press.
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However, a close friend of Mkhatshwa confided that indeed the 49-year-old had finally parted ways with Tingwenyama.
“He claims to have worked without being appreciated for the good work he did. The fact that he had been without a contract for the three years he had been with the team, was an indication of that,” said the friend.
He claimed that he was unsure if it was true whether Mkhatshwa attended a coaching course, or if it was just a way of running away from the team.
Manana said United did not arrange any such course for Mkhatshwa as he has told them he had arranged this himself.
The website, KickOff.Com, quoted Mkhatshwa saying he has left the NFD outfit after clashing with a director. “I left soon after the game against Jomo Cosmos. There was a lot of fighting and I couldn’t take it,” the quote read.
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Mkhatshwa was into his third season with the local side after joining it before the end of the 2014/15 campaign.
He took the club to the Absa Premiership, having made it to the 2015/16 promotion play-offs last season, but they lost to Highlands Park.
Of late, there has been mounting pressure from Tingwenyama supporters on Mkhathswa to step down after a string of poor results.
In a previous edition, Mpumalanga News reported that a late solitary cracker by Tshediso Patjie reduced the pressure when his side beat Jomo Cosmos 1-0 at KaNyamazane Stadium two weeks ago. Patjie scored when some Tingwenyama supporters were starting to howl at their own players and the coach.
Meanwhile, Mkhatshwa’s assistant, Sonnyboy Ntakwende – who coached the team in a friendly with Orlando Pirates this past weekend – will oversee the match against Leopards.
