Gallants’ Dan Malesela dances to a new tune

If you’ve ever read one of the most famous books on earth – the bible – it speaks about a fictional, or factual character, Jesus Christ (however you perceive it), as being a prisoner of hope.

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In modern day Premier Soccer League football, one can liken Marumo Gallants head coach, Dan “Dance” Malesela to Jesus, as a prisoner of hope, as he has to guide his Limpopo-based outfit out of the relegation quagmire.

Malesela has not had much joy this season in the DStv Premiership, seeing that Gallants are at the foot of the standings after suffering a 1-0 loss to Maritzburg United on Saturday.

The Team of Choice did themselves a favour, but only just, as they are a point from the automatic relegation spot.

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Malesela, who is known to speak in riddles, was – for a change – much more straightforward and sent a direct message to his players.

“It is not nice to speak about my players publicly but some players have to be held to account because we cannot have players who impress at training then when it comes to the match-day, they are different,” Malesela lamented.

“I am not saying the players are not trying…they are. I understand that we are going through a difficult time with the injuries and all that, but that is not an excuse.

“We just have to go through this hurdle and try to find solutions to go forward, but it is getting tougher every day,” he added.

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However, as a bearer of a hopeful heart, “Dance” is optimistic about Marumo’s chances to ease out of the relegation zone and he hopes for some fresh faces this month to give hope to Gallants’ top- fight status defence.

“If we need to call in people to come and help we will have to do that. We will have to reinforce, particularly at the back…we have to see who we can get to help us fix the defence.”

“I am worried now that Sibusiso Kumalo probably has a problem with his hamstring, and that this time he is a makeshift defender. We are in serious situations and challenges but we will have to find solutions,” said Malesela.