Arendse: SuperSport Sale Rumours Impacted Player Performance
SuperSport United caretaker coach Andre Arendse has revealed that news of the club being up for sale negatively impacted his players’ performance during a challenging season.
SuperSport narrowly avoided the dreaded PSL relegation and promotion playoffs on Thursday, securing a crucial 1-1 draw against Golden Arrows at Lucas Moripe Stadium. This match was a resumption of the fixture originally abandoned in February due to load shedding at the venue.
The three-time league winners entered that game knowing a draw would be sufficient to preserve themselves from the playoffs and send Cape Town City into the PSL playoffs by finishing 15th in the table.
However, a couple of weeks prior, reports had surfaced indicating that SuperSport had been sold to a consortium planning to reform Bloemfontein Celtic in Bloemfontein. Sportswire was also informed that former player Vuyo Mere is set to join the club’s technical staff next season.
“One thing I can tell you, and this is a genuine answer, those are things that are completely out of my hands, the team’s hands,” stated Arendse, who was seen in tears alongside goalkeeper coach Grant Johnson after Thursday’s match.
“Those are board issues. Did it have a negative effect on the team when the news broke? Of course, it is natural. You’ve got to be thinking about their futures, families, their livelihoods – all those things. It is something that will weigh a little heavy on you.”
Arendse emphasized his role in trying to mitigate the impact: “But my job was to try and take that pressure, take that stress away from the players considering these set games that we had to get through and let them just be free to go and play. I did that as best as I could. But those things [talks that the club was sold] do wear heavy.”
Earlier in the season, in a bid to survive their struggles, SuperSport had controversially parted ways with their most successful coach in the club’s history, Gavin Hunt, due to a lack of forthcoming results.
Addressing the ongoing sale speculation, Arendse added, “The board has not said anything, and we are going to continue as we wish as the club that exists for now; that is what we are going to be doing. And I told you those issues will be made or confirmed one way or the other. Any other answer I give is speculation. To answer your question, you know as much as I do.”
Summing up the club’s struggles this past season, SuperSport managed to win only two league matches and conceded 30 goals in 28 matches, placing their defensive record among the top five worst in the league.
