‘Chippa United will never go down,’ vows defiant coach Vilakazi

Defiant coach Vusumuzi Vilakazi has declared that bottom-of-the-log Chippa United will not be relegated this season.

Vilakazi, who was roped in by owner Sivive “Chippa” Mpengesi last month to improve Chippa’s fortunes, is yet to register a win after three matches — two defeats to AmaZulu and Orlando Pirates and a draw with Magesi FC.

Chippa United lost 2-0 to Pirates at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday night to remain rooted at the foot of the table with only seven points from 13 games and faced with a mountain to climb to revive their campaign.

“It is unfortunate that I always come for teams that are fighting relegation and I am expected to do miracles,” he said after Pirates beat his side via second-half goals from Evidence Makgopa and Oswin Appollis to join Mamelodi Sundowns at the top of the log with 25 points.

“I still maintain what I said when I came here — that Chippa United will never go down.”

Vilakazi, who has had a nomadic career as a coach, said his confidence stems from his belief there is enough quality in the Chili Boys’ squad.

“The reason I am saying this is because of the potential that is there in these players. We needed to align a few areas where it comes to the psychological side of things so they believe in themselves.

“We have good youngsters like Asanele Bonani, who played his first match from the DDC team and he nearly scored a goal. We want to give them confidence and belief in themselves. I strongly believe we will do wonders going forward and we will save this team.

“I believe in the players and I can only talk about them from the matches against AmaZulu, Magesi and Orlando Pirates. With the first two games against AmaZulu and Magesi, I had only seven days with the team.

“If you look at the team today, the performance is higher than the first two games according to my analysis. But we still need to work hard because there are some things that are habits in the team and they cannot be rectified overnight.

“You need repetitions and unfortunately football sometimes is like a short blanket, where you need to find the balance in both defensive and offensive areas, and it is not easy to do so.”