MARITZBURG United chairman Farook Kadodia has eased the pressure on his head coach, Ernst Middendorp.
Kadodia says he is fully behind Middendorp, even though his charges have lost three games in a row.
Most recently, Maritzburg lost 1-0 to Polokwane City on Tuesday, at the back of a 2-0 loss to Kaizer Chiefs at the weekend and another 1-0 loss to SuperSport United earlier.
This has raised concerns among the club’s followers but Kadodia said there was no need for anyone to press panic buttons. “Of course I’m concerned but that won’t change the situation we are in right now,” Kadodia said yesterday.
“Losing three games in a row is not nice for anyone. We can’t continue like this. Having said that, there is no need to press panic buttons.”
Seven days ago Free State Stars became the first team this season to fire their head coach, Denis Lavagne, along with his assistant Phillip Ciccarini. They were sacked with immediate effect after collecting just one point in their first three games.
But Kadodia said he was not about to follow Ea Lla Koto’s route: “My target was to collect at least eight points in five matches. Four points from five games is not good at all. But there is no need to make irrational decisions at this point.
“We have to give the coach and his technical team our full support and hope the situation changes. We can’t afford to have a repeat of last season.”
The chairman said what was going on with United was not just Middendorp’s fault: “Obviously I can’t say what the problem is. Only the coach can answer that. But as much as people like to point fingers at the coach, players should share the blame. They need to take responsibility in games and score goals.
“We had some decisions going against us, which cost us matches.”
The Team of Choice’s next match is away to Ea Lla Koto on 15 October.
