LCS coach fired

MASERU — LCS coach Katiso Mojakhomo (pictured) has been sacked, making him the first managerial casualty of the 2009/10 Vodacom Premier League season.
After a poor start to the season which sees Masheshena languishing in ninth position in the latest standings, nine points off the top, LCS have also not spared Mojakhomo’s assistant Moshe Lephoto.
The development was confirmed by LCS general secretary Lehlohonolo Matlosa this week.
Matlosa however tried to play down Mojakhomo’s dismissal, saying the coach had not been fired but “suspended indefinitely”.
“It is not about performance as such. We have agreed that we are not going to disclose the reasons as yet,” Matlosa said.
“It is too early to say what is going to happen. It is 50-50 whether he will stay or go,” he said.
Mojakhomo expressed his dismay at the way he was ejected from his post by his employers.
He said he had not been formally informed of the decision to fire or suspend him.
“I have been hearing this on radio and people have already been talking about this,” Mojakhomo said.
“But there is no time that the management has written or told me formally of the decision,” he said.
Mojakhomo said he was unlikely to remain with the team, assuming his “suspension” was to be lifted.
“I don’t think I will return to the team. There is no way people can suspend a person without telling him if they want to keep them,” he said.
LCS, in the meantime, will be supervised by a three-man panel led by former Masheshena player Phapang Motanyane.
 He will be assisted by current players Refiloe Potse and Sidwell Mothea.
All of them do not have any coaching experience.
Mojakhomo took full charge of LCS at the beginning of the 2007/08 season, leading the correctional services side to their second successive title.
He was previously the team’s assistant coach.
Mojakhomo also led LCS to the MGC Supa 8 and Vodacom Soccer Spectacular titles last year.
But this season hasn’t started well with LCS claiming just two wins — an unconvincing 1-0 victory over Mphatlalatsane and a 3-2 win against bottom side Butha-Buthe Roses.
Although LCS’s executive insists Mojakhomo’s removal is not solely performance-related, the four-time Lesotho champions have made their worst start to a league campaign in four years.
“We are not used to seeing LCS at number eight or nine in the league,” Matlosa said.
“We are used to the team being among the top three sides,” he said.
Performance aside, there were already rumblings of player discontent within the LCS camp towards the end of last season when they finished a disappointing third, 11 points off the top.
This season started with a lethargic 1-0 loss at home to Likhopo, prompting the Masheshena coaching staff to question the commitment of some players.
“Some players in the squad seem happy about what has happened,” a senior LCS player told the Lesotho Times on Tuesday after LCS’s first training session without Mojakhomo.
“There are also those who have been disappointed with the news.”
“There are a few things that have affected the team but they could have been resolved and there was no need to remove the coach,” he added.
The sacking of Mojakhomo comes at the worst possible time.
On Saturday, Masheshena open the defence of their Vodacom Soccer Spectacular crown when the play Bantu in Butha-Buthe.
“The fact that Bantu have started so well will give us the motivation to beat them,” Matlosa said. “Don’t be surprised if we thump them by three goals,” he said.