Mahlaha pleads for patience

MASERU – Matlama interim head coach Halemakale Mahlaha has pleaded with the club’s supporters to be patient with the team as they work to turn their season around.

Matlama’s fans are notoriously impatient and the defending champions are languishing in sixth place on the Vodacom Premier League table with 23 points from 15 games.

‘Tse Putsoa’ are a full 13 points behind leaders Bantu as the season enters its second round which is a far cry from the champions’ expectations when the season started in September.

Back then Matlama kicked off the season with four wins in a row and were top of the table at the beginning of October, but their train suddenly spiralled out of control and league-winning coach

Mothobi Molebatsi resigned at the end of October after being attacked by a Matlama fan in Morija following a league defeat to Lijabatho.

That is when Mahlaha took over but things have hardly improved at Pitso Ground as Matlama have won just twice in their last 11 games under his guidance.

Matlama’s last game before the Christmas break was a 2-1 defeat to Lifofane which only served to anger their fans even more but Mahlaha said he hopes ‘Tse Putsoa’ can turn a new leaf in the new year and he urged supporters to stick with the team.

“I want to say to the fans: have patience and give us a chance to work. We understand that, as the face of Matlama, we need results, but I am pleading with them to be patient especially with players,” Mahlaha said.

“They can talk to us but one thing I learned is that the fans are not happy with some of the players. I am asking for patience; let’s work together as management, supporters and players because we all want the same thing, to be happy,” he said.

A former Lesotho Under-17 national coach, Mahlaha is in his second stint as Matlama coach and the club were hoping his wealth of experience which includes coaching the likes Lioli and Likhopo would revitalise the club’s on-field performances.

However, Mahlaha said he found deeper lying problems when he arrived – the attitude of players was unhelpful, their self-esteem was low and the coaching was immediately under pressure because the league had already started.

A deeper clean-up was needed and, before the Christmas break, the champions terminated the contracts of 10 players citing ill-discipline and a lack of game-time.

The club said the decision was made in agreement with the technical team and the players offloaded included Lesotho international midfielder Lisema Lebokollane who was a key player in Matlama’s 2022 league triumph.

Mahlaha said they made changes believing they would help the team in the long run and he insisted they were already seeing changes even before letting the players go.

He said he saw a continuation of positive signs when Matlama resumed training on Monday after the Christmas break. ‘Tse Putsoa’ have two weeks to gel before they resume their season next weekend against Swallows.

“All in all, I see people trying to improve from where they were, we have hope that this time around during these two weeks, even though there is rain, there is a positive attitude we are seeing,” Mahlaha told thepost.

“We made some changes within the team that we think will help us and that the (players) left will recover quickly,” he added.

“It is encouraging that the first day back after the break you find regular players available, almost all the players arrived, they were over 20 players at training.”

Mahlaha said Matlama will try to strengthen the team during this January transfer window and the plan is to mix young players with experienced ones in the hopes of building a better long-term future for the club.

In a bid to build team morale and recover in time for the league’s restart, the club is also planning to host team-building activities on Saturday.

The champions host 14th-placed Swallows next weekend at Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) Ground which would seem to be a good opportunity to turn their season around.

“We tried to mix young talent with experienced ones,” he added.

“We think it will help long-term and then not let go but just continue from there. As much as we will be trying to compete, we must have a long-term plan. The owners of the team, which are the supporters, want results. So, we need to balance (those expectations) so that we finish second round in a good position.”

Vodacom Premier League table:

Tlalane Phahla