Dylan Kerr, Swallows FC, December 2021Backpagepix

Swallows FC boss Mogashoa on why coach Kerr ‘did not save’ club from relegation

David Mogashoa, chairman of PSL side Swallows FC, has dismissed assertions that coach Dylan Kerr saved the club from relegation, casting doubt on the future of the tactician.

Kerr had been lauded for leading the Dube Birds to top flight survival after emerging from a three-team playoff following a 15th-place finish in the PSL, but Mogashoa feels the coach underachieved having had enough time to push the team to a better position.

“I hear a lot of people are saying the coach helped save the club – it’s not like we brought the coach here when we had three or five games left,” Mogashoa told SABC Sport.

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“The coach had 18 games. Now if someone had 18 games and the other had five, and the one with five survives relegation, who saved the club? It’s the one with five games,” added Mogashoa about the coach who joined Swallows in November 2021 after Brandon Truter’s dismissal.

“So, the coach had 18 games. With 18 games, you can’t say a person saved the club. The club actually almost got relegated, and with 18 games we expected to finish around maybe eighth or 10th, but not to be fighting relegation.”

Mogashoa, however, acknowledged there were other issues at the club that would have made Kerr’s job difficult, hence the struggle.

“I wouldn’t actually blame the coach entirely because he came and found the squad there, it was a bloated squad. There were unhappy players because most were not playing, and that’s part of the reason, but I wouldn’t go as far as saying the coach saved the club, no,” he said.

The Soweto-based side emerged top from a playoff that also included AmaTuks and Cape Town All Stars after a 1-0 win over the former in the deciding match following a barren draw in the corresponding fixture.

As it has become customary for Kerr, he celebrated the milestone with a tattoo on his lower leg while thanking the players for making it happen.

It is still not clear if the former Black Leopards and Baroka coach will be the man to lead Swallows next season after Mogashoa said a final decision will be made on July 4.

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