‘Let’s be honest, I am not a superior coach’: Mammila after Chippa sacking

Axed Chippa United coach Morgan Mammila says he will leave the club with his head held high after being fired by club chair Siviwe “Chippa” Mpengesi on Monday.

The flamboyant Mammila was fired after the team’s 2-1 DStv Premiership defeat to Swallows FC at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Sunday.

He has been replaced by former coach Kurt Lentjies, who returned to the team as an assistant earlier in February.

The news of Mammila’s exit comes as no surprise as Mpengesi is known to be trigger-happy, especially when results are not forthcoming.

Former journeyman administrator Mammila’s appointment to the bench, first as an assistant coach and then replacing Daine Klate as head coach seven games into the 2022-23 season, raised eyebrows.

He started with four wins in a row, but Chippa lost form as they lost five, drew four and won two of their 11 league and cup games since. The Chilli Boys are in 13th place in the league, just three points above relegation-threatened Maritzburg United.

Having anticipated the move, Mammila said after their loss to the Birds that if Chippa did not win their next league fixture against AmaZulu, he would resign.

“I am a proud man where I am, with all that has happened during my time at Chippa,” Mammila said.

“Let’s be honest, I am not a superior coach. I just started [in a coaching path] yesterday, and even I wouldn’t risk my status and give it to someone like me.

“That is why I am saying let’s congratulate Chippa for taking a good decision to hire me, and a decision he made all on his own without being influenced by anyone.

“He saw I could be a good coach all by myself. I was shocked I had not even expected it when he offered me a coaching position at the club.

“We don’t know where this team would have been if it wasn’t for him.

“The teams that were down there at that time of my appointment are still there — Maritzburg United are still there, Marumo Gallants are still there.

“I am congratulating him on how it started and how it has ended. We don’t have to look only at the end product, we have to look at how it started.”

Former Baroka COO Mammila took over the reins as head coach after former Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United star Klate's dismissal in September 2022.

Asked if he would stay at the club and perhaps return to administration duties, Mammila said: “I will weigh my options through the guidance of the chair on what to do.”