Chippa coach to play 27 mins as his farewell match as a player
Chippa United interim coach Kurt Lentjies will return to the field of play on Saturday when they take on TS Galaxy. Lentjies was appointed to stand on the touchline after the firing of Gavin Hunt following strings of poor results. He then stopped playing to take a coaching role on an interim basis.
Lentjies has succeeded in avoiding relegation with Chilli Boys however they’ll be playing The Rockets who’re still in danger of going down. Meaning, that Galaxy won’t make it a sweeter game for the player-coach.
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Lentjies to play his last match at Chippa before retiring
Lentjies confirmed that he’ll participate for 27 minutes as a player while Morgan Mammila will be coaching at that time. But the former Maritzburg United will then come back to the bench to continue his role as a result coach.
“As the chairman promised me after I played my last game against Maritzburg United, I will definitely walk onto the field to play 27 minutes this last game for my farewell. I will play for 27 minutes and coach the rest, that’s our agreement with the chairman,” Lentjies told SowetanLIVE.
“I got the opportunity halfway through the season as a player going into the coaching industry. This job just came my way. God blessed me with the opportunity to coach, I had to decide whether I hang up the boots to coach these guys, which I’m enjoying very much.
“I’m happy, the most important thing is we secured our status for next season so we can start building.”
The 37-year-old coach played 107 games for Chippa and scored 6 goals while he provided 7 assists. In total, he has played 308 games and scored 33 goals at the club level.
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His previous include Mamelodi Sundowns, SuperSport United, Bloemfontein Celtic and Maritzburg.
Lentjies unfazed by pressure at Chippa
Now, keeping in one’s mind that Chippa have a norm of firing coaches constantly. Lentjies once said he’s unfazed by the pressure that coaches feel when they are at Chippa. He said after losing 2-0 to Mamelodi Sundowns.
“I have been working under pressure my whole life, so I don’t feel it at all,” he told the media.
“I can take this loss with a smile… whether I’m staying here for the next two days or a year… let it be. I’m accepting where I am. I wouldn’t have said ‘yes’ if I couldn’t believe that I will motivate the players and work towards what we want to achieve at the end of the season.”
