Nyatama vows to return Birds to the skies

Swallows interim coach Musa Nyatama has made it clear he's focused on the task of  helping the Birds fly high again, rather than thinking whether he must retire to be a coach on a full-time basis, as he's still an active player.

Having initially oversaw Swallows' first five games of the season, when then coach Dylan Kerr was still sorting out his work permit, Nyatama returned to the dugout on Wednesday to face Kaizer Chiefs, who would beat them 2-1, thanks to goals from Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana and Keagan Dolly. Waseem Isaacs struck a consolation for the hosts at Dobsonville Stadium.

Swallows decided to reinstate Nyatama as a caretaker coach after firing Kerr nearly three weeks ago. A few coaches like Ernst Middendorp and Lehlohonolo Seema, who attended the match against Chiefs, have been linked to the Swallows coaching post.

Quizzed about his future plans, Nyatama emphasised he wasn't looking beyond his immediate task of helping the bottom-placed Soweto club climb up the table. "I had to step in and take the responsibility as the team is still looking for a coach.

"I will take one game at a time for now, just to focus on what's in front of me. I want to help the team come out of this situation, that's what I will do for now. I can't talk about the future because my focus is on the job at hand,'' Nyatama said.

Swallows travel to Mpumalanga to face fellow strugglers TS Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium tomorrow (3.30pm). Nyatama's plan is to aid the Birds move out of the relegation zone before the league goes to a Fifa World Cup hiatus next month.

"Each and every game is very important for us now...it is a cup final. We need to collect as many points as we can before the break. We've got four games now left before the break, we need to collect a number of points that would see us move to at least positive 12 on the log,'' Nyatama said.