Mikia Kalati
LINARE management has appointed Lehlohonolo ‘Freeze’ Ntene and Moses Ramafole as the club’s new coach and assistant coach respectively ahead of the start of the Econet Premier League second round.
The duo joins the club from Litšilo and Lifofane respectively in the A division and have vowed to help Linare become a dominant force again in the league after a difficult first round which led to the club parting ways with then coach Teele Ntšonyana.
Ntene is not new to the Linare set-up having previously worked as the head coach and assistant coach in the previous years while Ramafole also donned the green and white colours of Linare during his playing days.
Linare’s marketing manager Thobi Sekhoathane confirmed the appointments of the two coaches to this publication and said they both started work on Monday.
“We have the two as our new coaches and Ntate Ntene will be working with our players’ based in Maseru while the other coach will work with the group that is in Leribe,” Sekhoathane said.
“They have been given six months contracts to see what they can bring in the second round then we will take it from there.”
Sekhoathane admitted that Linare standards have dropped in recent years but said they are confident that the new coaches will help improve the fortunes of the Tse Tala.
“We are hopeful that they will bring stability to the club because things have not gone well in recent times. We will also help the coaches secure all the players they want so that we have a competitive team.”
He confirmed that the club has already agreed terms with Lioli’s Lekhanya Lekhanya while they are in negotiations with the unsettled Jerry Kamela, whom they hope will sign with the club in the January transfer window.
“Lekhanya has already signed a contract with us because his current deal at Lioli is ending at the end of this month while we are still in negotiations with Jerry Kamela.
“If we do not encounter problems getting their clearances, we will hopefully register them for the second round as well as other players who will be identified by the coaches,” he said.
For his part, Ntene told the Lesotho Times that he is looking forward to a new challenge at his home club.
“I came back because I believe things are different as compared to my previous spells with the club. It’s a new challenge with new management.
“The club has been courting me for some time to come back but it was not easy as I was with Litšilo however, in the end the pressure from the community also got the better of me to come back.
“I had to listen to them and come to help the club. I’m hopeful that my return will work wonders for the club. I think we need more experience in the squad and to ensure that the players are happy at all the time.
“I think if the players are happy it’s easy as a coach to get the best out of them. The players need to know that wearing the colours of this club is an honour and should fight to bring the glory days back,” Ntene said.
Tse Tala have gone for over three decades without a major trophy but and came close during the 2013/14 season where they lost to Lioli in the final of the LNIG Top and also finished third on the log.
They are currently tenth on the 14-team Econet Premier League table having registered only four victories from their 12 games.
