Kerr confident Marumo Gallants will make the cut
‘I have been here four times before and managed to survive’
Marumo Gallants mentor Dylan Kerr is banking on his personal pedigree to save teams from relegation to come in handy again tomorrow when they face Swallows in what’s a do-or-die last game of the season for them at Dobsonville Stadium.
Gallants, who were eliminated from the CAF Confederation Cup by Tanzanian side Young Africans in the semifinals on Wednesday in Rustenburg, need to beat Swallows to escape relegation. They can still do with a draw, provided Chippa United fail to win against Golden Arrows in a synchronised fixture.
Having saved Gallants, when they were still Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila, Baroka, Black Leopards and the same Swallows last season, Kerr has proven to be a survival specialist and this seems to be giving him confidence.
“I have been here [in relegation dogfight] four times before and managed to survive. I was in the play-offs [with Swallows] last season and I hate it, so we will push to avoid that,” Kerr told Sowetan yesterday.
Kerr is also encouraged by the way Bahlabane Ba Ntwa have been playing since he replaced Dan Malesela in January, saying their Confed Cup exploits have made the league and the country proud. The Gallants coach has, however, urged his troops to be sharp upfront against the Birds, thinking bluntness in the final third has been their major undoing this season.
“We’ve got to be confident. The way we’ve been playing since I came gives us confidence in each and every game. We’ve made the PSL and SA proud by our performances in the Confed Cup. In the domestic league, our finishing has been letting us down. Against Swallows, we’ve got to be clinical because we need goals to win the game,” Kerr said.