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Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter
KAITANO Tembo has revealed ambitions to help lowly South African Premiership side Sekhukhune United break into the top eight for the first time in the coming season after he was named the club’s head coach.
The former Zimbabwe international was formally unveiled on Wednesday to replace Owen Da Gama, who had a brief stint with the club recently.
Tembo will work with the club’s former head coach Macdonald Makhubedu, who has been redeployed senior coach with Thabo Senong continuing as assistant coach.
“Look, I think first of all, I’d like to thank the chairman, the CEO, for affording me this opportunity to be part of Babina Noko,” Tembo told the club’s media department
“I feel like I’m at a place where there is a lot of ambitions to do better. It is a club which is very young, and I want to be part of it. I want to be part of the growth of the club.
“And I think that’s really encouraging for me, and that is one thing that I’ve really thought about, to come here and make a huge difference in the team.”
Tembo, who recently left SuperSport United, has been linked with the job at Kempton Park-based Babina Noko for the last few weeks. He brings with him more than eight years of topflight football coaching experience following his stint with SuperSport United.
He reached two MTN8 cup finals at SuperSport United and won his maiden trophy in the second of those against Highlands Park in 2019.
The 51-year-old Tembo worked for many years at SuperSport United having played for the team and served as a youth coach and then assistant to a number of head coaches until his promotion to head coach in 2018.
Sekhukhune United was formed in 2020. The club, which is also home to former Zimbabwe international Willard Katsande, ended 11th in their maiden top-flight season.
Tembo’s appointment comes a few days after the club embarked on a massive clear out, offloading 14 of their players including the Zimbabwean trio of seasoned goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini, forwards Charlton Mashumba and Evans Rusike.
Babina Nonko, as the club is affectionately known, are confident of improving on their eleventh place finish in the just-ended season.
“Well, I think we want to do better than the previous season. The club has really done well, coming from the NFD, winning promotion as well as finishing eleventh in the past season.
“So we want to do better than that and try and break into the top eight. I think that’s the huge objective.
“And I think with what we have, with ambitions, with the attitude that I’ve seen, in terms of the work ethic with the staff, I feel like we’ve got everything to fight for to get us into the top eight. And that will be our challenge coming into the new season.”
“Thank you to the Chairman of Sekhukhune United, Mr Simon Malatji for choosing me to lead this great team and to be part of their long-term vision in the DStv Premiership League.
“I is the same vision and drive that motivated me to be part of the Babina Noko family. It is my desire that Sekhukhune United must be up there fighting for silverware to make their supporters happy.
“I am looking forward to have a long-lasting working relationship with management, players and members of technical team. I cannot wait to start preparations for the next season”.
Sekhukhune chairman Simon Malatji was excited by Tembo’s arrival.
“I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Mr Tembo to Babina Noko family. We are very much excited to have Mr. Tembo in our team, and we believe he will assist us in achieving the goals that we have set for ourselves as Sekhukhune United FC, we wish him well in this journey,” said Malatji.
Online Reporter