‘I’m not in a panic’: Chippa Mpengesi promises not to bomb Morgan Mammila

Chippa United boss Siviwe “Chippa” Mpengesi says he is happy with head coach Morgan Mammila and has no intention of bombing him.

Former Baroka COO Mammila raised eyebrows, given his administrative past, taking the reins as head coach after the dismissal of Daine Klate in September last year.

Mammalia started on fire, registering four consecutive wins, but since then Chippa have sagged to three defeats and four draws.

It's not a bad record overall, but the club's most recent run of form may have notoriously trigger-happy Mpengesi shifting in his chair.

After their 1-1 draw against Royal AM at Chatsworth Stadium on Saturday the Chili Boys are ninth on the log with 21 points from 18 matches.

So far, Mpengesi has displayed uncharacteristic tolerance as Mammila collects points in dribs and drabs.

“We played 18 games and we have 21 points. I think we are heading in a good direction,” Chippa's owner told TimesLIVE.

“ If you look at the game against Royal AM we could have won, we deserved to win it so credit to this team and its young technical team.

“ There are a lot of places where they need to improve. But [if you look at] where we are sitting, I’m really not in a panic - one or two wins and we’ll be out of this.”

Chippa have brought ousted former coach and ex-player of the club  Kurt Lentjies as a second assistant to Mammila to coach the forwards in an attempt to stoke the team's scoring engine.

“Lentjies is always my child. Football people are forgiving people, so Chippa United is his home.

“The way we ended things at the start of the season was a nice way, so we sat down and we smoked a peace pipe and he is backw.

“The majority of these players are players recruited by him, so we don’t want to look like we are a confused team because if we bring somebody else now and we fire this guy [Mammila] we will be starting all over again."

Mpengesi said Mammila, having brought stability to the team, can focus on areas that need improving.

“Morgan is my personal friend. I am four days older than him, we almost share a birthday. I leave this asset on his shoulders, I trust him. I am focusing more on my work and my other businesses.

“There is nothing for me to come here [to the club's offices] for. It’s always dangerous when I am around. I only come when there are cracks, but with him collecting points here and there, we always say in football a point builds the team spirit going into the next match.

"It’s a loss that breaks the spirit.”

Chippa meet Maritzburg United at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Sunday.