Veteran coach Ferreira aims to help Polokwane back to Premiership

Veteran coach, Johnny Ferreira has not given up on his wish to guide a team in the top flight and is now aiming to help Polokwane City back to the DStv Premiership so he can fulfil his wish.

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Ferreira has only worked as an assistant in the top flight in his donkey years as a coach and feels he has to try his hand at top level as well before thinking about retiring form the game.

He had set out to do it with Sekhukhune United but was then surprisingly removed as head coach and given the role of technical advisor which he was unhappy with, Phakaaathi has heard.

It is not clear why the club decided to ‘promote’ him when he was doing well and they had not lost a match and were top of the GladAfrica Standings.

“That’s why he jumped at the chance to coach at Polokwane even though the team were at the bottom end. He still has ambitions and being a glorified technical advisor wasn’t fitting with his plans,” said a source.

Ferreira has himself said it that he wants to be in the Premiership and even if that happens when he is 80 he will keep pushing for it.

The 63-year-old has been an assistant to the likes of Clive Barker, Neil Tovey, Paul Dolezar, Sammy Througton and Jacob Sakala among others.

He came close to guiding Uthongathi FC to the top flight last season and some in the KwaZulu-Natal club still believe they would have won promotion had he not been sacked.

The Cane Cutters were leading the race in the Championship when Ferreira was chased out and the team struggled afterwards and ended up not even making the playoffs.

But now he has found a new lease on life at Rise and Shine and he aims to help the club who were relegated from the Premiership last season back.

He has his work cut out though with the club having let almost all of their experienced players go and rebuilt with youngsters.

Polokwane are currently ninth on the Championship standings with 19 points – nine off the top where Richards Bay have a three points lead on closest rivals Sekhukhune.

Ferreira has not given up and with 15 games still to play, he feels City can still make it to the top and if they fail to get  automatic promotion, they can fall into the playoffs positions.

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