Mikia Kalati
NEWLY-APPOINTED Matlama coach, Mosito ‘Careca’ Matela says he is aware that coaching the country’s most decorated club comes with huge expectations from the fans, and he had come to help the team to “discover their best form and become a force to be reckoned with again”.
Matela this week ditched LMPS to replace his mentor Seephephe Matete who resigned last week after a poor start to the 2017/18 premier league campaign.
Matela, a former Matlama defender, had a fruitful maiden season with LMPS, guiding them to a top eight finish.
He said it was not easy for any coach to turn down an offer from a team like Matlama although it had come early in his coaching career.
“I want to thank the LMPS management for giving me an opportunity to lead their team,” Matela said, adding, “It was an honour and I will forever be grateful to them”.
He said it would be a huge challenge to bring back the glory days at Matlama because the players were low on confidence after a poor start to the new campaign.
“Coaching Matlama is a big responsibility. It is not easy to turn down a big club when they come calling although I feel it might have happened too soon in my coaching career.
“But they have showed that they believe in my abilities and I should make the most of the opportunity.”
“It is not going to be easy because the team did not start the new season well and that might have affected the confidence of the players.
“The first task is to establish the problem and find the solution. In football you learn every day be it as a player or coach.
“So my coming here is part of the learning curve. It started at Bantu where I worked with a lot of coaches such as Lehlohonolo Seema, Motlatsi Shale, Mpitsa Marai and Leslie Notši, who all contributed to my growth as a coach.
“I have been the student of the game and I will continue to learn at Matlama. I will go to Ntate Matete for advice as he is my mentor who introduced me to coaching.
“He is the mentor to all of us the young coaches in this country and knows Matlama in an out.
“As much as I come with my own philosophy and I am a different coach to the others, but at the same time it is important to learn from those that you work with. Luckily, Ntate Mokuena Mohale who was the assistant to Ntate Matete has remained and that means I will talk to him about how much they covered in the pre-season,” Matela said.
