Morgan Mammila is confident that he has a well thought out plan on how to navigate the 2024/25 Motsepe Foundation Championship season and be the first one to cross the line in the 16-team marathon for Betway Premiership status.
Baroka missed out on automatic promotion last season when they finished third in the Motsepe Foundation Champions, as Magesi were elevated to the top-flight.
Bakgakga have now employed Mammila – who previously served as the club’s chief executive officer – as the leader of the technical team. His mandate from club owner and long-time friend Khurishi Mphahlele is clear – promote the team to the PSL.
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Mammila is on the same wavelength and has already come up with a strategy which he believes will be watertight and turn Baroka into an unshakable and immovable force in the NFD this new season.
“We are not playing for a draw, we are going to play like Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. They don’t go to the match and look for a draw.
“We are a big team in this level, so we are going to play for a win in all the matches and I think with the quality that we have, we will manage to win 20 games and get 60 points and we win the league,” Mammila told members of the media.
The former Chippa United head coach will not compromise his style of play, even though he will be competing in the more hostile environment where dog-eat-dog is the order of the day.
“I play a system of playing from the back, I don’t play long balls. I need players who are comfortable on the ball. That’s the starting point. There is no excuse, it is easy as a coach.
“You look at the previous coaches – how many wins? 12. If you are hired as a coach you must do better than the previous coach, so my target is 20 games. Win 20 matches and get 60 points.”
Baroka enjoyed half a dozen seasons in the top-flight from 2016 until they were relegated in 2022. They will kick start proceedings in the new campaign against Orbit College FC on August 25 at the Global Stadium. Given his experience in the top flight, Mammila sounds like a man who oozes confidence.
“There is no pressure. I came from where there is pressure in the PSL. Why must I worry about pressure here. This is part and parcel of our jobs as coaches, to improve the performance of our players.
“I am happy with what I see and If I am looking for promotion and I sign a 16-year-old, it tells you where we are going.
“We are 75% ready. There is no team that is 100% ready, we are all coming slowly but surely and I hope we will be a better team on the 25th,” Mammila concluded.
𝗠𝗔𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗔 𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟!!!
— #UNPLAYABLE (@UnplayableZA) August 20, 2024
"We are going to play like Sundowns, like Chiefs, like Pirates," @Baroka_FC coach, Morgan Mammila, ahead of the new NFD season.
📹 1Nation FM. pic.twitter.com/RP4M6vh2XM
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