Golden Arrows assistant coach Kagisho Dikgacoi says he enjoys working with the team's head coach Manqoba Mngqithi, hoping to win titles with him at Abafana Bes’thende.
“It's exciting to work with the coach [Mngqithi]. Remember, he coached me in the past [when he was a player at Arrows between 2005 and 2009 during his first stint there],'' Dikgacoi said on the sidelines of KZN Premier's' Cup launch at Richards Bay' BON Hotel yesterday.
“I know what he expects from the players. I am learning a lot from him and I am actually enjoying the moment right now. He is someone who's achieved many titles and I am hoping to also achieve a lot with him.”
“KG”, as Dikgacoi is nicknamed, also lauded Mngqithi's impact since he returned for a second spell at Arrows towards the end of last season, winning three of the last 10 league games he oversaw with five defeats and two draws. Arrows finished 12th, missing out on a top eight spot by just two points.
“We didn't do well last season until the coach [Mngqithi] came in. He came with a sort of mentality of demanding a lot of intensity from the boys, which is something we didn't have before,'' Dikgacoi said.
“He [Mngqithi] has won titles with Mamelodi Sundowns and that's the mentality he's instilling to the players here at Arrows, hoping we can win many games this season. It's unfortunate that we didn't qualify for the top eight, which was something we'd hoped to achieve last season.”
The KZN Premier's Cup will be contested by six clubs from the province in Golden Arrows, AmaZulu, Richards Bay, Durban City, Milford and Midlands Wanderers, who've just finished third at the ABC Motsepe League national playoffs to gain promotion to the second-tier. This pre-season tournament will be played at Umhlathuze Sports Complex on July 26-27.
Arrows will face AmaZulu in the first game on July 26, with the winner advancing to the semifinal, where they play the winner of the second game, between Durban and Milford. Bay and Wanderers will play a seeded semifinal on July 27.
“It's a game that we want to win. It will give us direction as to how far we are in terms of preparing for the new season, so we're excited and looking forward to doing well,'' the Arrows assistant coach said.
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