Marumo Gallants co-head coach Sundra Govender says the 8-1 defeat to Orlando Pirates wasn’t an embarrassment but it’s important to now work on the mental side of the squad.
Govender joined Gallants after quitting his role with second-tier side Casric Stars as Dan Malesela was given leave of absence for reported family responsibilities.
And it was a baptism of fire alongside Duncan Lechesa this afternoon as they were hammered by Jose Riveiro’s side at Orlando Stadium.
“There’s a lot of things we can speak of but it boils down to one thing, Pirates wanted it more than us, maybe lapses of concentration a bit and you know, in 13 minutes if you concede three goals, it’s not easy to come back after that,” he said.
“So conceding so quickly in the second half, it has a mental impact on the players, emotionally you could see the players were in sixes and sevens afterwards, so tactically from our side as coaches, we take responsibility and it didn’t work.”
Govender said it’s now to move on quickly and regroup for their trip to Polokwane when they face Sekhukhune United this weekend.
“I wouldn’t call it an embarrassment, it’s not the first time a team has lost by this score, look at world football, top leagues, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, big clubs with this score,” he added.
“For us now it’s more about the emotions, the psychological side of the players and what’s important is that we don’t make them feel as if it was their fight alone, we fought it together and yeah we will have to deal with the emotional side, we can a game on Saturday.
“We must build up towards that much now. The mental aspect is important, the football side I think it’s something we can do in two days.”
Gallants are in 12th place in the league with 10 points after 10 games played this season.
