Maritzburg United coach Fadlu Davids says his side is “fragile” to fight for the top eight, and his sole focus is to save the club from relegation.
The Team of Choice have markedly improved since Davids took over in November last year, winning three games on the spin to move off the foot of the DStv Premiership standings.
They were at the bottom when the former Orlando Pirates co-coach took over then, replacing out of sorts John Maduka, who arrived during the off season.
While Maritzburg lost to TS Galaxy, Davids’ first game in charge when the season resumed from the FIFA World Cup break, they won three games on the bounce – beating Marumo Gallants, Royal AM and Golden Arrows respectively to shoot up the log table.
However, while their noses were getting above the sea water, they were brought back to the earth when Chippa United defeated them 1-0 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium over the weekend.
“I don’t think we should talk about the top eight,” rejected Davids, who led Maritzburg to the top four in the 2017/18 season, the club’s highest finish in the PSL era.
“We should know where we come from, and the players are still fragile. The players are still with the mentality of being at the bottom of the log for six months – it’s not easy to digest. We only took ourselves off the bottom but so close to the bottom and playoff place.
“We want to take it step by step. We can’t be winning three games in a row and start thinking about the top eight, no. Our objective is to get 30 points as quickly as possible. If there are matches left after we get our 30 points, we will push as far as we can. But at the moment it is to save the club from relegation.”
Maritzburg just need 10 points from 12 matches left to reach that magic number, which in many seasons you survive the relegation. The Team of Choice have played 18 matches and collected 20 points.
Meanwhile, Bongani Sam was loaned by Pirates to Maritzburg at the start of the season, but his loan was cut short before Davids arrived, with the player trying his luck at SuperSport United afterwards.
He has since joined Swallows FC on loan from Pirates.
“Since I came here, he never had one training session with me. There was a club matter with him and unfortunately I was not able to work with him when I came to the club,” explained Davids, whose side host AmaZulu at Harry Gwala Stadium on Friday.
“I didn’t have one training session with him. It is something that happened before and it is an internal matter with the club.”
