Jelusic says sorry

MASERU – The national head coach Veselin Jelusic says he will accept any decision the Lesotho Football Association (LEFA) will make over his future after failing to qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations

He apologised to the nation and the football fraternity and took full responsibility for the results.

LEFA has not clarified the future of the head coach. Jelusic was hired last February on a two-year deal last year. He is just beginning the second year of his contract.

When Jelusic was brought in to replace Thabo Senong, he had just over a month to prepare for the preliminary stages of the AFCON qualifiers against Seychelles last March.

Given the time, the mandate to qualify for AFCON seemed unrealistic from the get go, however, Jelusic said all associations around the world have objectives to qualify for major competitions and it is part of sport.

“Regarding our CAF and FIFA rankings, the quality of players in our team and the teams we are competing against, you can make a conclusion whether it is realistic or not, but what is true is that I accept this responsibility,” Jelusic said.

Jelusic first started his address saying the association offered the best possible conditions to prepare for these two games against Zambia which included the friendly games against Malawi and Eswatini to help the team prepare as much as possible. Likuena lost the away game 3-1 in Ndola last Thursday and were beaten 2-0 in the home leg at the Dobsonville Stadium on Sunday.

He said the players gave their best to achieve better results but the opponent was stronger and better. The results leave Likuena bottom of Group H with one point from four games and out of the running to make it to the Ivory Coast finals next year.

“The difference in the level of preparation between two teams was especially visible in the second game when we expected we would have better performance and achieve more,” he said.

“Simply, it wasn’t possible because in our opinion, two days between the two games were not enough for full recovery of the team, and due to heavy legs we didn’t perform at the level we wanted and expected,” he said.

While Likuena have good players, Jelusic said there is a need to also recognise their limits especially when talking about speed and difference between general speed and reaction speed between their players and other professional players.

He said it caused a lot of problems for them and the situations in the game that they couldn’t find adequate answers to the challenges they experienced during the game.

In the home leg, Likuena had only one player on the pitch who does not play in the Vodacom Premier League in Katleho Makateng who plays for a South African side Richards Bay. Jelusic said it is not by chance that Zambia dominated both games as they had 15 players based overseas.

“It is not an excuse, we don’t want to justify anything, but some of our important players like (Motebang) Sera, (Motlomelo) Mkhwanazi couldn’t play because of injuries. I am not saying the results could have been different and better for us with their presence but at least it should be better. Also, (in) the second game, Bereng couldn’t play because of yellow cards,” he said.

“On the Zambian side they had 15 overseas players and nine of them play at prominent European clubs. It is not by chance that (Patson) Daka who is in the Premier League in England scored two goals, (Emmanuel) Banda, who plays in Italy scored two goals that (Fashion) Sakala assisted. Sakala also scored a goal in the first game (and) he plays in Scotland for Rangers,” he said.

According to Jelusic, Likuena’s technique is relatively slow because in the Vodacom Premier League players have enough time to receive the ball, to think where to pass and so on, but in international games, there is a high level of pressure from opponents.

Because of technical deficiencies, Likuena cannot dominate and have possession of the ball for a long period, he said.

Asked about the reaction of the fans to the poor performance of the team, he said it is normal but insisted they do not go into games with the intention to lose.

“Our approach to the game should be realistic,” Jelusic said.

“It is not that we don’t want to be like Arsenal or Manchester City to dominate the game, to create chances, to have possession of the ball and so on. The problem is if you can do that against these opponents, as I said, teams with a better level of preparation. Our level of technique doesn’t allow us to have longer possession with the ball and to dominate,” he said.

Jelusic said Likuena are on the lookout for new young players to join the national side and get exposure and experience.

He said it cannot be an overnight process but Likuena can improve game by game. He said they can grow more self-confidence and, in future, will be better.

“I should be honest with you, when looking at younger players comparing them with the players that we already have in the national team, at this moment we simply don’t have good options,” Jelusic said.

Likuena will host Comoros in their last home game of the qualifiers in June.

Tlalane Phahla