Golden Arrows coach Mabhuti Khenyeza has expressed his enthusiasm for the addition of Kagiso Dikgacoi as a co-coach alongside Musa Bilankulu.

Dikgacoi, a former Arrows player, joined the coaching staff after the departure of Steve Komphela in July.

In his first game as co-coach, Arrows emerged victorious by winning a 2-0 victory over Stellenbosch FC at Athlone Stadium on Wednesday as they start the Betway Premiership.

Khenyeza praised the positive impact of having three experienced coaches working together, emphasizing their shared understanding and respect for each other.

“It’s good addition to our technical team,” said Khenyeza. 

“Because, remember, three brains are much better then when we were two of us and now it is much better because we communicate and the good part is that we grew up together. 

“We understand each other, the characters. Sometimes when I fight, they calm me down. The most important thing is that there is respect between each of us and we share the ideas of each and everything. 

“I don’t act as a head coach, all of us are the same and I give them freedom to do whatever that is going to benefit the team.”  

The win over Stellenbosch marked Arrows’ first opening-day victory since the 2021/22 season when they beat Maritzburg United (now Durban City). The team’s strong start has propelled them to the top of the Premiership table.

Khenyeza attributed Arrows’ success to their thorough preparation and knowledge of Stellenbosch’s playing style.

“A bit because they didn’t know how we play,” said Khenyeza when he was asked if it helped to watch Stellies play those matches while they were planning during the pre-season.  

“We were aware of how they play and how they have been winning games. And all their specific players like Andre de Jong, you can see he drops deep and plays as a false nine and when you are aware of that, you deny them a space behind.  

“We also denied them a bit of wing-play because they are very good on the side and we paid a bit of attention on some certain players in their line-up, especially their two center backs and we identified those positions and that’s why in our line-up we started with players who have speed and mobile and later we brought in power.  

“But we still had the speed on the side, and I think it helped us a lot because we have been watching most of the time Stellies.”   

Arrows next host Marumo Gallants at Mpumalanga Stadium on Saturday (15:00).