There are valid reasons for selling and buying clubs – Malesela

The move has come under criticism, with some in the football fraternity feeling that the buying of top-flight statuses demeans the game and cheapens the efforts of players and coaches.

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But Malesela – who returns to the Rockets from whom he resigned last year following a lack of results while the club was campaigning in the first division – believes people have to look more at the reasons for selling and buying rather than criticise.

“People sell clubs because they feel they can’t do it (run them) anymore.  People buy clubs because they want to own those clubs. I can see that people are saying this thing of buying and selling of clubs it is not good in the PSL. You can’t just say that because you feel like saying that,” he said.

“If I’m struggling as a club owner financially and nobody is willing to help me, what do I do?  Do I make my employees struggle? Or do I say, let me rather ship out before there is a bigger damage? Because the next thing, you will take risks and at the same time end up owing SARS (South African Revenue Services).

“The next thing, people will be saying this club owner is making players suffer. He hasn’t paid them and is owing SARS. If I can see that I’m no longer going to manage as a club owner, why not sell?”

Malesela likened selling a club’s status to a parent downsizing from a big house to a smaller one they can afford, saying the children are likely to be unhappy but it is what is necessary sometimes.

The forme Chippa United mentor has also revealed that he is happy to be reunited with the Rockets.

“It is good to be back and I’m also grateful with this opportunity of fixing things at the club. To be honest, it really feels good. The fact that one didn’t move on to another club in between my resignation here and now was a blessing (in disguise) because I may have gone somewhere where I wouldn’t have wanted, but because we want to be employed, maybe I would have gone. God guides you in His own way sometimes.

“I’m grateful for that as well. I’m also grateful that Tim didn’t go for anybody else. He had options where he would have gone for anybody but opted to go for me. We have to fulfil everybody’s expectations and everyone will be happy,” he told the club’s website.

While he was happy to be back with the Mpumalanga based side, Malesela said rejoining was not a decision he would call easy.

“I won’t say easy. Easy is something else. It was more like automatic. Because of the understanding of each other (myself and Tim) things became easy in terms of choices of the club choosing me and I also choosing the club,” Malesela added.

“We’ve been having discussions all along. I almost knew what was going to probably happen even though at some stages, I had my own doubts that may not be the case because there was a time when Tim decided to keep quiet. Probably, he was just trying to put the deal together,” he said.