Vilakazi counts on his history with Khenyeza to succeed

Golden Arrows co-coach Vusumuzi Vilakazi believes his long-time relationship with fellow co-coach Mabhuti Khenyeza will help them succeed as they become the latest coaching pairing in the PSL.

The KwaZulu-Natal side confirmed yesterday that Vilakazi, 39, and Khenyeza, 40, will lead the team going into the upcoming DStv Premiership season after they impressed in their audition at the back end of last season, narrowly missing out on a top-eight finish. 

Many teams are gravitating towards having co-coaches, with the duo of Manqoba Mngqithi and Rulani Mokwena at Mamelodi Sundowns the most successful.

It just did not work out as planned, however, for Orlando Pirates, who had Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids and Sekhukhune United, who tried it with MacDonald Makhubedu and Owen da Gama. 

Vilakazi is confident he and Khenyeza will make it work as they have a long history, having played together at the club. 

"For others it's worked and for some it didn't. People must understand the co-coaching matter is deep. You can't combine two people and say they must be co-coaches," said Vilakazi. 

"Mabhuti and I have a history. I've coached Mabhuti in the NFD when we got promotion, when I was a second assistant for Shaun Bartlett. We have a history and understanding that other people may not know. 

"It's not easy for people to co-coach if they don't understand and know each other, it's going to be a disaster for them. What makes our working relationship with Mabhuti is we come a long way. We played together and now we are coaches," he said. 

Vilakazi says they will look to work with the larger group at the club to make sure the project is successful.

"It's not about who is in charge at that particular moment. In football, you need other people for the project to be successful. 

"He has his strong points and I have my strong points, and if we combine them we are bound to be successful," Vilakazi said.