Mcelwa Nchabeleng

Mcelwa Nchabeleng

Coach of the month for January, Kaizer Chiefs' Muhsin Ertugral, says the accolade will also serve as motivation to his charges.

Muhsin and the red-hot Sthembiso Ngcobo, Free State Stars' forward, were named the Absa Premiership's coach and player of the month yesterday.

Said Ertugral: "I won this award because of the players and that is why it is for everybody in the camp.

"It also belongs to rest of the technical staff because their inputs always helped the team a great deal. We win matches as a collective at Kaizer Chiefs and the awards we win in the process belong to all members of the team."

The judges of the awards also recognised Ea lla Koto joint coaches Themba Sithole and Steve Komphela for moving the team away from the relegation zone.

Orlando Pirates mentor Rudi Krol and his counterpart at Swallows, Julio Leal, were also mentioned for their teams' improved performance, but it was Ertugral who got the nod.

Abia Nale, the gifted Chiefs attacking midfielder, was also in line for the award, after his eye-catching display last month that earned him three man of the match awards.

But it was Ngcobo's goal-scoring prowess that helped Stars to move away from the quagmire. He has scored eight goals so far in the Premiership.

Ngcobo has been drafted in the Bafana Bafana squad to play Chile in Polokwane tomorrow night.

Komphela said his player's achievement has also inspired his teammates.

"His success is also that of the team because our players complement each other in the team," said Komphela. "These incentives are good because they motivate the players."

Ngcobo's goal against AmaZulu has also been added to the list of contenders for the Absalutely Awesome Goal of the Season.

Others are Gary Goldstone's goal against Ajax, Tony Tsabedze's effort against Ajax Cape Town and Katlego Mashego's goal against Bidvest Wits.