Canaan Mdletshe

Canaan Mdletshe

Black Leopards might be down, but they are certainly not out.

This is the view of their coach, Boebie "Mzala" Solomons, whose side suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of AmaZulu on Saturday.

Solomons, whose jobs is certainly on the line after back-to-back losses, told a post-match press conference that they might be relegation candidates, but that does not mean they will get the chop at the end of the season.

He said his players are good, but their only problem is that a series of bad results has made them nervous.

"The players are nervous and tense and this makes them commit schoolboy errors that cost us games. It's normal for any player who finds himself in a similar situation to ours.

"For the past six years, they have been fighting relegation and it takes its toll on them. You need to have experienced players to deal with such a situation and, unfortunately, they don't have that experience. Players like Jabulani Maluleke and Myron Shongwe are good players, but they are not doing well lately simply because before the game can even start, they already think of winning," said Solomons.

But Solomons was optimistic.

"We still have to play many games before the end of the season and those who want to write us off can do so at their peril. The next games are enough to see us moving out of the danger zone and if I can manage to change the attitude of the players, it won't be long before we turn the corner. A point against AmaZulu would have made all the difference.

"We came down there with a plan not to concede but unfortunately our goalkeeper made a mistake and they scored. It was a human error and I can't blame him for that. And a red card did not do us any good. In the situation, we are trying hard."