- Truter might reconsider Caf involvement
- Sekhukhune use Marumo's PSL exit as lesson
- Babina Noko licking their wounds after cup failure
WHAT HAPPENED: Given Marumo Gallants' unfortunate fate in the Premier Soccer League, Sekhukhune United head coach Brandon Truter appears to be having second thoughts when it comes to participating in the Caf Confederations Cup.
Gallants had a fairytale run in the Confed' Cup where they reached the semi-finals, only to be kicked out by Tanzanian outfit Young Africans. At the same time, Gallants were relegated to the National First Division as they simply could not handle both competitions, which ran co-currently. Marumo coaches Raymond Mdaka and Dylan Kerr operated with a fairly slim squad and that backfired as the team crashed out of both competitions.
Now, Truter does not want his side to go through the same thing as he has qualified his side to Confed Cup on the virtue of being runners-up in the Nedbank Cup against Orlando Pirates.
WHAT WAS SAID: "Being in the second season only in the PSL, we have to choose our battles very, very carefully. We have a status to protect as well in terms of, we saw what happened with Marumo going all the way to the semi-final then getting relegated locally," Truter said as per SABC.
AND WHAT ELSE: "Challenging on all fronts and seeing what Marumo went through this season, playing so well in Caf but domestic form suffered. We have to be mindful of that. Obviously at this moment also we have to be mindful of the squad size in terms of quality and in terms of quantity as well.
"Our squad depth, of course we need to rectify that. There are challenges there, we have some loaned players as well. So, we have to sit down now during this break and really analyze it and see where we can beef it up and strengthen it as well."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: If Sekhukhune do decide to be heavily involved in the Confederation Cup, they might suffer the same fate as Gallants. In 2017, SuperSport United took part in the same competition and given their thin squad, they found themselves fighting relegation after reaching the final against TP Mazembe.
WHAT'S NEXT: After losing the Nedbank Cup final against the Buccaneers, Sekhukhune will lick their wounds and prepare for next season.
