Swallows coach Brandon Truter is aware of the curse of the coach of the month winners.

Being celebrated as the coach of the month is a good thing, but it can quickly turn into a nightmare. For instance, after former Maritzburg United coach Eric Tinkler won the monthly accolade in March, his team's performance took a nosedive, and he subsequently lost his job.

Ex-Chippa United coach Tebogo Moloi suffered a similar fate in December 2017 as he was the toast of the month during his reign at the Eastern Cape-based side and went on to lose his job shortly after that.

Former Golden Arrows coach Clinton Larsen also won this award in August 2017, and soon things fell apart for him as results deserted him.

The latest recipient, Truter, said he knew that it could be a curse or a blessing. But he said he would not fall into the same pit as the other coaches before him.

"I got reminded of the curse of the coach of the month shortly after I received the award. My phone has not stopped ringing as people are telling me to be careful about experiencing a free-fall after winning this award. But I keep on telling them that I have a plan and would not suffer a similar fate," said an optimistic Truter.

He said that he had a heart-to-heart discussion with his boys about it. "We spoke at length with the boys and agreed that all eyes would be on us from now on. We are mentally strong, and I want to break the curse and go on to win another one and become a hard-to-beat coach," he said.

Truter has lead unbeaten Swallows to second in the log table with 12 points from six matches, trailing log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns by two points from the same number of games. They will host Maritzburg United at the Dobsonville Stadium on Tuesday (7.30pm). "The next game is the most important, and we have to keep our feet on the ground and avoid getting carried away," Truter added.