Sekhukhune United head coach Lehlohonolo Seema has made a bold claim that by the end of his three-year stay at the club, they would’ve challenged for the Betway Premiership league title.
Seema made a sensational return to Babina Noko after the sacking of Peter Hyballa who had been at the club for just a month-and-a-half. Despite Seema’s impressive run that saw him collect 15 out of 15 points to pick up the Coach of the Month accolade for April, he was placed on “special leave” in mid-May before the club parted ways with him.
The former Orlando Pirates captain’s return to the club came as a surprise, with Seema confirming that all that transpired was now water under the bridge as they look to build a team mixed with youth and experience after releasing 13 players.
“It doesn’t feel like I have moved that much because there was nothing sort of a mandate,” he told Andile Ncube on Metro FM’s Sports Nights Amplified.
“I was given the job straight away and then I was told that, ‘Look, Coach let’s work hard and continue to improve as a team. We finished 11th, we finished 7th now we finished 4th. Let’s try and see if we can up it. If we can’t up it, let’s not go down’.
“I don’t think those are hard demands or mandate to achieve. There was no pressure at all [from the chairman].
“Chairman told me straight up, ‘We’re not a selling team’. Yes, one or two if there’s a need but we’re looking forward to make sure that maybe in two or three years we can trust and start to challenge.
“We’re trying to have a balance so that slowly we make sure that these young ones we integrate them so that we can have a team that can sustain us for long.
“So, that we can now say, ‘Let’s see if we can go for that league and give it a shot and go as far as further where we finished in the group stages [of CAF Confed Cup] in position three or even the Champions League,” Seema added.
When quizzed about time frame to challenge for the league title, the former Lesotho international boldly said: “I think three years is enough [to challenge for the league].”
“I think by the end of my contract, we should be challenging for the league. It’s my personal ambition.
“It can happen early, but I’m being realistic. I’m saying I’m giving this myself three years and at the end of my contract, I should be challenging for the league.
“And I think by that time, the players that we have acquired now, would’ve gelled and played together for sometime a lot of games.
“And I think the team by then, it will be ready,” he concluded.
