Chippa United are not in a hurry to find a replacement for assistant coach Nkosohlanga Dikeni, who left the role vacant at the club last week.
This was confirmed by the club’s head coach Brandon Truter after their drawn league match against Mamelodi Sundowns at the weekend.
According to the team sheet submitted to the PSL for that game, Chippa had goalkeeper’s mentor Johan Abselon as the only accredited coach in Truter’s technical setup.
The rest were the club’s supporting staff, which included the team manager, two kit managers, a fitness trainer and physio.
Truter confirmed that Dikeni submitted his resignation letter to the club after their match against Milford FC, two weekends ago.
While it’s rare for a head coach to go solo in the PSL, Truter said they were not shopping for an assistant at the moment.
" Myself and the chair [Siviwe Mpengesi] are discussing the replacement issue, but at the moment we don’t want to bring anybody," Truter said.
“We are looking; we want someone who is going to fit what we are building here.
“There’s a certain culture at Chippa that we want to maintain, meaning we have to be careful who we bring in,” he said.
Last season, Truter took over the reins from Dikeni at the club in May.
Dikeni at the time was interim head coach following the departure of Vusumuzi Vilakazi to help steer the team through the final stretch of the season.
Truter described Dikeni as a very good assistant, even sharing how he missed his input in the dugout during the Sundowns game, which Chippa nearly claimed three points in but eventually drew 1-1.
“There aren’t many like him around. He was supportive from the word go. It’s a big loss for the technical team.
“He is the one who had been helping me instil the structure the team has at the moment and the character.
“We had a conversation on why he was leaving,” he said.
Truter did not disclose the reason when pressed, only stating it was a personal decision Dikeni took and that the moment was confidential.
Chippa’s next league game is against TS Galaxy in Mbombela Stadium on Sunday.
They are still searching for their first league win this season.
Galaxy lost at home to newbies Kruger United at the weekend.
Despite that shocking result, Truter said it was key for his team to be clinical in front of goal, describing Mbombela as a tough place for visiting teams.
The last time the teams played each other in Mpumalanga, the game ended in a 1-1.
However, in the reverse fixture, played at the Buffalo City Stadium in KuGompo City, Galaxy won 4-1 in a game in which Puso Dithejane netted a hat-trick.