Pirates assistant coach attracting interest from Championship side

Orlando Pirates assistant coach Mandla Ncikazi has been earmarked by one of the Motsepe Foundation Championship sides, who are looking at bringing the coach to their club should they be promoted to the DStv Premiership, a source has revealed.

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Reluctant to mention the name of the club due to its contractual terms with its current head coach and to avoid any disturbance at the club, the source says the team is looking at bringing Ncikazi on board.

The club is currently in the top three in the Championship. It is said that the plan was to bring the former Golden Arrows and Maritzburg United coach on board prior to the start of the current season, but, they ultimately thought it would be best to get him only once they are playing in the top-tier.

“This team’s club boss is Ncikazi’s number one fan, he loves the way he carries himself,” said the source.

“He knows what he can do with a team and believes that he will be a good person to make sure the club stays in the PSL (DStv Premiership) if promoted.”

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“The current coach is good, he has the experience, but Ncikazi is much more experienced and has been with Pirates for a very long time. The chairman will make sure that he gets him, plus I don’t think this is an opportunity that coach Mandla would want to miss, unless Pirates don’t want to let him go.

“We are just keeping our fingers crossed that the team gets promoted, everything is looking tight at the moment, but there is a huge possibility that the club will be in the big league next season.”

At the moment, Polokwane City, Cape Town Spurs and Casric Stars are in the top three of the National First Division (NFD) log and only number one will get automatic promotion to the DStv Premiership.