Klate Reacts To His Appointment At Chippa United

Daine Klate has reacted to his appointment as Chippa United head coach as he was announced at the beginning of this week. Following the sacking of Gavin Hunt last year, Chippa appointed Kurt Lentjies as interim coach but was axed just after guiding the club to avoid relegation last season.

“Everything happened so quickly, the chairman called me after we beat TS Galaxy in the DDC Cup,” Klate said on SAfm on Tuesday. “He said he’s impressed with what I’ve done and wanted to promote me. I said give me a day to think about it and after consulting with the family, I decided to take it.”

“It also helps that I’m from PE and know the potential here. I had to start somewhere as a young coach and why not at home. I also retired here and worked as assistant to Gavin Hunt, so I kind of understand the dynamics of the club.

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“At least this is my home, so I’m not packing any bags. If it doesn’t work out, I just go back home. I can only control tomorrow’s training and not worry about what happens after that. I’ll take it one day at a time.

“There’s a lot of talent here in the region and we want to make the most of it. We will have a proper look at the squad and see where we need to reinforce. But credit to Kurt for leaving me with a good squad.”

It’s now a norm that Chill Boys fire coaches now and then and all eyes are staring at Klate who undoubtedly has pressure on his shoulders. The former Orlando Pirates left-winger has never coached in the PSL and comes in with an experience he acquired from the DStv Diski Challenge.

HUNT SAYS THE TIMING WASN’T RIGHT WHEN HE COACHED CHIPPA AND CHIEFS

Fresh from the box, Hunt is new at SuperSport and believes it’s good timing to take the reins. But looking back when he mentored Chiefs and Chippa, he thinks it wasn’t good timing. Last year, the four-time league winner coach was sacked by Chiefs before they appointed Stuart Baxter. He got the job at Chippa at the beginning of the last season and was axed again in December. He knows the feeling of being fired!

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“An opportunity obviously came there [at Kaizer Chiefs and Chippa], timing is not always [right]. I thought when this came up the timing is right. It’s a good opportunity to go in, to build another team and build on what they had here before.

“[I start] at the back, I think they have a nucleus of a team, it’s not like we starting from scratch, what we need to do is obviously the younger players, because of the market, we need to look at those that came from the system last season, look at them, give them a good honest assessment and then see where, how and what we can do [in the market].”