Larsen Not Satisfied With Magesi’s Decent Start
Magesi FC coach Clinton Larsen says he is not satisfied with his side’s decent start in the Betway Premiership amid comparisons to Cape Town Spurs’ dismal start to the 2023/24 campaign which saw them get relegated back to the second tier.
In contrast to the Urban Warriors, who lost their first eight matches upon their return to the top flight last season, Magesi is already off the mark after securing a 1-0 win over Golden Arrows away from home in September. The Limpopo-based outfit has only lost two of their opening six encounters in the league and is currently on a four-game unbeaten run with three consecutive draws including one against Kaizer Chiefs following their maiden win.
They are in the semi-final of the Carling Knockout where they are visiting Richards Bay at King Zwelithini Stadium on Saturday (15:000.
However, despite early promising signs that Magesi can compete at the highest level, Larsen insists the start deemed to be impressive is not satisfactory as they are only four points away from the relegation zone having accumulated six.
“I don’t think it’s a good start in the league, we’re 11th, so we’re just hovering above relegation, so it’s not a good start in the league. Maybe some people are comparing us to Cape Town Spurs and saying, ‘with what happened last season this is a relatively good start, ’” he said.
“But in my opinion, this is not a good start. I felt that we should be two or three points ahead of where we are, and that for me would have been a satisfactory start.’
However, the Durban-born mentor believes his charges are starting to command some respect after shockingly dumping Orlando Pirates out of the Carling Knockout Cup, and was on the verge of claiming a historic victory over Chiefs before blowing a 2-0 lead.
“We’ve gotten some respect, maybe not everyone respects us because we are still growing our brand but slowly but surely people are starting to realize that we are a team that can compete and be dangerous in certain moments in the game and with that comes some form of respect, ” asserted Larsen.
Though pleased with his team’s progress, the experienced Premier Soccer League coach acknowledges that there’s room for improvement in certain areas of their game plan including his tactical flexibility for Magesi to earn maximum respect.
“We’ve got a lot more to do to earn respect, we’ve got to play better defensively, attack better, the coach has to improve his tactics. There’s a lot of things that need to improve for us to gain full respect in the football fraternity, ” Larsen added.
Magesi will be looking to maintain their unbeaten streak and move further away from the danger zone when they take on sixth-placed Chippa United at Buffalo City Municipality Stadium on 30 November after the international break.
