Ramatsiyi Moholoa

Ramatsiyi Moholoa

Owners of AmaZulu have reshuffled their technical staff and appointed former Bafana Bafana captain Neil Tovey as head coach of the battle-scarred Usuthu for the new season.

Tovey took over from Clive "The Dog" Barker who has been redeployed to serve as director of coaching and youth development. The veteran mentor will also be part of management, after serving as coach for two seasons.

Patrick Sokhela, Usuthu chairman, said: "We have decided to appoint Tovey as the new coach for the next season.

"He has been with the team for more than a season as our technical manager and has a long association with the club so he was our automatic choice to lead the team."

A former defender and captain of AmaZulu, Tovey showered Barker with accolades for helping to develop him as a player and coach.

Barker mentored Tovey at Durban City, Usuthu and at Bafana Bafana. He had recommended Tovey for the position of technical manager.

"My goal is to awaken this sleeping giant by bringing back the success that we enjoyed when I was still a player at AmaZulu during the 80s," said Tovey, who won the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations with Bafana under Barker.

One of his immediate challenges is to prepare the team for the 2009-10 season where they start with the MTN8.

AmaZulu have released six players - goalkeeper Mashudu Mamphitha, forward Sean Dundee, Mamokia Yemo, Bonga Mogale, Sanele Majola and Thulani Mhlongo.