Dylan Kerr believes Swallows FC have the potential to fight at the top end of the table as he seeks to reignite the fortunes of the club in the second half of the DStv Premiership campaign.
Birds coach Kerr will lead them in their Nedbank Cup last-32 clash against GladAfrica Championship side TS Sporting on Saturday.
The Englishman has a reputation as a ‘fireman coach’, drafted in to quell the flames after helping Black Leopards, Baroka FC and TTM beat relegation in each of the last three seasons.
But his unexpected victory with the latter in the 2021 Nedbank Cup final proves he is also someone who can help teams fight for silverware, and he believes that is possible with the Birds.
“After being at three clubs, and for a variety of reasons we never progressed further, I don’t want that to happen at Swallows,” Kerr told TimesLIVE.
“I want to start a preseason at a club, and I want to start challenging Mamelodi Sundowns like Steve Barker at Stellenbosch is doing, like Royal AM are doing.
“Like other teams that you may not necessarily expect to see in that top four, I believe Swallows can be there as well.”
The Soweto side have played six games since Kerr replaced Brandon Truter, though he has only sat on the bench for one of those after a long wait for his work permit. Swallows managed six points in that run, having only collected eight from the 12 games up to his arrival.
Kerr says the first thing he had to fix was the morale of the players, and with little time on the training pitch due to hectic fixture schedule, there was not much time for anything more.
“It was about lifting morale, bringing back smiles to the faces and getting the belief back into the players. And getting the trust back in the players.
“The biggest thing was the energy and the enthusiasm, it wasn’t there. I would say I am 80% happy at the six performances and 20% disappointed.
“When I came to the club they were rock bottom. They had scored three goals and had eight points. We played six games in 17 days, which was horrendous. I had never heard of a fixture list as bad as that.
“We should have won at least five of those six games, but because they didn’t know me and I didn’t know them, I was relying on information from other coaches.
“Plus I spent five of those games in the stands, whereas if I had been on the bench I would have been able to get the message across to possibly win the games.”
Kerr believes Swallows will turn the corner. “If we continue to try and play that way, I think there will be a bright future and a rewriting of a historic Swallows legacy,” he said.
Swallows coach Kerr: Birds can soar in top half of the table
Image: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
Dylan Kerr believes Swallows FC have the potential to fight at the top end of the table as he seeks to reignite the fortunes of the club in the second half of the DStv Premiership campaign.
Birds coach Kerr will lead them in their Nedbank Cup last-32 clash against GladAfrica Championship side TS Sporting on Saturday.
The Englishman has a reputation as a ‘fireman coach’, drafted in to quell the flames after helping Black Leopards, Baroka FC and TTM beat relegation in each of the last three seasons.
But his unexpected victory with the latter in the 2021 Nedbank Cup final proves he is also someone who can help teams fight for silverware, and he believes that is possible with the Birds.
“After being at three clubs, and for a variety of reasons we never progressed further, I don’t want that to happen at Swallows,” Kerr told TimesLIVE.
“I want to start a preseason at a club, and I want to start challenging Mamelodi Sundowns like Steve Barker at Stellenbosch is doing, like Royal AM are doing.
“Like other teams that you may not necessarily expect to see in that top four, I believe Swallows can be there as well.”
The Soweto side have played six games since Kerr replaced Brandon Truter, though he has only sat on the bench for one of those after a long wait for his work permit. Swallows managed six points in that run, having only collected eight from the 12 games up to his arrival.
Kerr says the first thing he had to fix was the morale of the players, and with little time on the training pitch due to hectic fixture schedule, there was not much time for anything more.
“It was about lifting morale, bringing back smiles to the faces and getting the belief back into the players. And getting the trust back in the players.
“The biggest thing was the energy and the enthusiasm, it wasn’t there. I would say I am 80% happy at the six performances and 20% disappointed.
“When I came to the club they were rock bottom. They had scored three goals and had eight points. We played six games in 17 days, which was horrendous. I had never heard of a fixture list as bad as that.
“We should have won at least five of those six games, but because they didn’t know me and I didn’t know them, I was relying on information from other coaches.
“Plus I spent five of those games in the stands, whereas if I had been on the bench I would have been able to get the message across to possibly win the games.”
Kerr believes Swallows will turn the corner. “If we continue to try and play that way, I think there will be a bright future and a rewriting of a historic Swallows legacy,” he said.
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