Coach’s slow starters
Lidoda Duvha has named Mark Harrison as newly appointed Black Leopards coach.
A NEW broom is supposed to sweep clean, but this was not the case with the newly appointed Black Leopards coach.
Lidoda Duvha has named Mark Harrison as their new coach, but the former Golden Arrows mentor did not have the best of starts to his new job as he lost all three matches that Leopards played under his watch.
Harrison, who was also previously at the helm of Black Aces and Chippa United in the Absa Premiership League, was hired only a few hours before Lidoda Duvha undertook the trip to the mother city to face the three Cape Town clubs. He had to watch in agony as his charges lost 3-2 to Santos, 4-1 against Cape Town All Stars and Milano United completed the hat-trick of defeats with a 3-1 score line.
Leopards have been under the tutelage of caretaker coach Joel Masutha since the sacking of Sean Connor.
The Venda based club was poised to hand the reins to their former coach Vladislav Heric, but after the Serbian mentor dumped them and joined fellow National First Division club Thanda Royal Zulu, Lidoda Duvha wasted no time in hiring Harrison whose last coaching job was at Arrows last season where he was sacked after guiding the club to a dreaded relegation axe.
Black Leopards are in 14th position on the log. Harrison believes the club has a chance to be playing top flight football next season.
The England born former Southampton goalkeeper says they need to collect points before the Christmas break to be in the right frame of mind when the league re-opens in February next year.
“I think in the next few weeks before the Christmas break, what we need to do is just try and get few more points on the board and put us in a more respectable position before the break.”
Harrison’s philosophy and turn-around strategy will be in the spotlight when Black Leopards host yet another Cape Town club, FC Cape Town at Thohoyandou Stadium on Saturday afternoon. That game will be followed by two away matches against African Warriors and Golden Arrows on 13 and 20 December respectively be followed by two away matches against African Warriors and Golden Arrows on 13 and 20 December respectively.
