Fani Madida may have not had the desired outcome in his first job as a head coach in the Premier Soccer League, but he's not about to give up.

Madida resigned as Moroka Swallows coach two weeks ago, reasoning that results were not forthcoming. His departure seemed a blow for those seeking to see more ex-players at the helm of Absa Premiership sides.

Currently, Roger de Sa, Pitso Mosimane, Gavin Hunt, Steve Komphela and Clinton Larsen are some of the former players who've made it to head coach status, with the likes of Madida and others struggling to entrench themselves.

"I'm still young," Madida, 48, said yesterday. "My time will come."

He would not comment much on his time at Swallows, who have sunk into relegation trouble, but Madida was confident the door for him to step up the coaching ranks, like other former players, would open again.

"The key is for us as former players to get full support from club owners when we become head coaches. I think Pitso got this kind of support when he started out at SuperSport United [in 2000]. He was given a chance and he proved himself. Look where he is today. There's also an element of luck. But you have to force your own luck."

Madida said ex-players also needed to improve their own skills, and not merely rely on previous glory.

Former players should also try their luck at lower-league clubs, and not necessarily the teams where they made a name for themselves, Madida said.

"Some of my ex-teammates at Besiktas in Turkey started coaching at smaller clubs, only to return years later to coach Besiktas. It was a huge achievement for them. I played against [Italy coach] Antonio Conte when he was at Juventus, and after getting his badges he returned to coach them."

Madida conceded SA was still far behind as European former players got support from governing body Uefa to help them attain coaching badges. "People like (former France player) Zinedine Zidane are being mentored by experienced coaches. If you're doing a Uefa Pro-Licence, you can get to spend a few days observing Pep Guardiola coaching. Such a programme could be useful for ex-players here."

While he hasn't thrown in the towel of bagging a head coach's job in the PSL again, Madida - who served as assistant at Kaizer Chiefs and AmaZulu - said taking charge of Swallows didn't qualify as his coaching breakthrough.

"I would love to coach a team from the start of the season, whereby I'm responsible for pre-season and most importantly, recruitment. That didn't happen [at Swallows]. If I get a chance like that then I'll say my time has come."