Former Chippa United coach Norman Mapeza says he made a “professional decision” not to sign for Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila after taking the team for a few training sessions in the past days.
Reports suggested Mapeza was close to joining Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila who bought their Premier Soccer League (PSL) status from Bidvest Wits.
The former Zimbabwe national team coach has revealed he had accepted the job, but could not put pen to paper due to differences with the club.
Mapeza confirms he is now back at his home in Harare after spending some weeks in Limpopo.
“I’m back at home now,” Mapeza told Times Live.
Next Match
“[It was] just a professional decision. I thought I couldn't build a team under three weeks which was going to compete to my liking. [There is] nothing much to it. I was just doing an assessment and watched two training games. [My stay with Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila] was just for assessment my brother. There was no football because of Covid-19.”
After Tshakhuma bought Wits’ PSL status, the club has experienced a mass exodus of players who have joined other clubs.
Although he could not take up the Tshakhuma job, Mapeza described the working environment in Limpopo as “very good.”
In South Africa, it is not new to Mapeza who once coached Chippa United for a few months in a spell credited for helping the Eastern Cape side from relegation.
Last week, Tahakhuma boss Masala Mulaudzi confirmed talks with Mapeza.
“There have been lots of talks about Norman Mapeza day and night [from the public],” Mulaudzi told PhalaphalaFM, according to FarPost.
"Norman Mapeza is one of the coaches that we have shortlisted, we are talking to him. The fact of the matter is that we are looking at the conditions of these coaches, to check which ones we can meet.
“Some [coaches] are saying they don’t want money but want to develop the community. Some are saying they want money, and we also tell them that we want results because we don’t want to be relegated. It is a difficult league this one because we have seen it how other teams are playing that, it is difficult out there.”
Tshakhuma begin their PSL journey with an MTN8 quarter-final date against SuperSport United.
