Gripped by the fear of losing their multi-million rand status following promotion to the topflight, Cape Town Spurs hired Sean Connor as the club's new technical director with effect from October. With Shaun Bartlett shortly thereafter departing, he was put in charge as head coach on a temporary basis. Although the team still struggled for results, they did pull one of the shock results of the season when they defeated Orlando Pirates for their first and only win thus far. The struggle of adjusting to life as an elite division side is real for the Ikamva-based outfit, and time is running out in their fight against an immediate drop back to second-tier football. In this interview with Soccer Laduma's Masebe Qina, Connor opens up on the challenges faced by the club and how they plan to improve things. He also talks about how they are managing hugely promising talent Luke Baartman, who is said to have even attracted interest abroad.
Masebe Qina: Thanks for talking to the Soccer Laduma readers, coach. How's things been at Cape Town Spurs up to this point?
Sean Connor: It's been an exciting time and it's been very busy. Having said that, it's also been a frustrating time because I think the performances of the team deserve better in terms of the points tally. But I think everyone at the club understands that we are playing in the PSL and that mistakes are bound to happen at times. The thing about this league is that each mistake you make is punished.
MQ: Just how frustrating is it to keep losing points game after game?
SC: It's very frustrating and I saw that clearly when I was the interim coach, having initially joined the club as the technical director, but I think the boys carried themselves very well and did everything to the best of their abilities. We had very good performances against (Orlando) Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United. Picking up only one win (from four matches) during that period was frustrating and it's something that's very hard to put your finger on. In some of the matches, we needed just that one goal. But those are the things that happen in football, and I had confidence in the team. But there's a very fine line in what we have been doing and getting success, we just need to start winning matches to become successful.
MQ: The Urban Warriors' only win thus far was against Pirates. What did that result do to motivate the players?
SC: I will be honest with you, I think that win was all we needed to give confidence to the players that we can do it. But the fact of the matter is that we played Pirates and the next match was away to Chiefs, and so the fixture list wasn't going to be easy, but I think we did well in both matches. I think even in the loss against Chiefs, we put in a very positive performance and moving forward to the next match against Richards Bay and losing in the way we did was a bit of a disappointment. We missed a penalty with the last kick of the match, and I think had we got a point from that match, it would have done a lot to help in the situation that we are in at the moment. But the Orlando Pirates one was brilliant and when I look back at it, it will help us in the long run.
MQ: With Richards Bay being the team closest to you in the standings, it must have been a real disappointment losing to them…
SC: It was really disappointing, and I think that performance was probably the worst performance for us since I arrived at the club to become interim head coach. Although we dominated possession, we never really created goalscoring chances until, obviously, the final kick. I think the difference between the two sides is the fact that they already have had a year in the PSL (topflight) now and therefore they've got the experience and were able to manage the game, even though we had most of the (ball) possession. They scored their goal very well and once they were up, they defended as you would expect them to.
MQ: So, how did you join the team?
SC: Well, I think you look at the size of the club, you look at the history of the club and this is the club that has commanded respect for a very long time. I know that they just got promoted back to the PSL, but I think if you see the challenge and you see the need to contribute to the project to make the club better… that's how I made the decision.
MQ: Upon arrival, what did you feel needed to be done to improve the results?
SC: For me, I think the players needed a bit more detail in terms of coaching. We have a lot of players who played NFD (National First Division, officially called Motsepe Foundation Championship) football and had previously not played in the PSL. There's a massive difference between the two leagues and that's the biggest problem. Another thing is that because the team participated in the play-offs, probably the players didn't have much of a rest before preparing for the new season. That's what I think also affected the planning… lack of PSL experience for some of the players. The main thing I tried to do when I came in was to manage the experienced players on the field as much as we could to take off the pressure from the young players.
MQ: What does your role as technical director entail?
SC: I oversee the football side of the business for the football club and I look at what kind of assistance that the first-team coach needs and all that. We create that kind of an environment and get to oversee the running of the academy and support the partnerships that are involved. So, it's a strategic long-term plan but also one that requires day-to-day involvement.
MQ: Tell us about how Ernst Middendorp was chosen for the role of head coach.
SC: That decision was made after following a very strict consultation process. We looked at all the applications and we made a shortlist. We spoke to the people who were on the shortlist and the presentations were made and then we came to the final decision of the appointment.
MQ: How have you found working with Vasili Manousakis?
SC: Vasili and I worked well together, and I think from day one when we were put together, we have been doing well considering that we've never really known each other. Our philosophies are very similar. He supported me when I was the interim coach in the same way that he is providing good support for Ernst who is now in the position of head coach.
MQ: And support from management?
SC: Alexi (Efstathiou), the CEO, and I meet every day and we chat. Okay, we don't meet face-to-face, but we speak over the phone. Alexi's support has been huge in what we're trying to do, and he knows that both him and I have a very key role in developing the club over the next couple of years.
MQ: How confident are you that the team will move out of danger?
SC: The players, technical staff and everybody are working very hard to ensure that we prepare well for each and every game to get the results. We are all hoping that our players will turn up and put in big performances to get those points.
MQ: Are you planning on reinforcing the squad in the January transfer window?
SC: We are having discussions at the moment and a decision will be made at the right time. But part of my role is development and I recruit, and we certainly have a long list of players that we hope we can go after should we get to that agreement.
MQ: A lot has been said about the talented young Luke Baartman, who has been making good progress since being promoted to the first team. How do you make sure that he is protected from any distractions to remain focused?
SC: Look, that one is very much part of my role and I have to ensure that Luke is protected, and we already do that internally. We speak with him every day and we make sure that he continues with his schooling, and we make sure that he still trains with the (DStv) Diski Challenge team to help him and keep him grounded. We are trying to manage the whole situation so that he can play his football without any pressure, and that's the key role that I'm involved in.
MQ: It has been widely reported that he has attracted interest from Scottish giants Celtic, although the Siya crew reported in last week's edition of Soccer Laduma that the club was yet to formally approach the player's camp. Tell us about that.
SC: I can't really comment on that because you will always get stories around a young talent who has been able to make his debut for the senior team at such a young age and has already scored a goal. I can't control what is being written by the media and what people say, all that I can control is the environment that we work in to develop him so that Luke Baartman could develop to be one of the many players over the next couple of years to come and play in the first team.
MQ: At the beginning of this interview, you did say the PSL is a league where every mistake is punished. What's your overall assessment on the standard of the South African topflight?
SC: I think the PSL is a very difficult league and there's very little difference between the bottom side and the side that is sixth or seventh on the log. Obviously, Sundowns, Pirates and Chiefs have big budgets and big squads. It's a very tough league, but there's very little between us and, like I say, any team up to sixth and seventh in the league table. What I do think though is that the league probably lacks strikers. There aren't too many top-class strikers in the league and that's one of the big differences I have seen between this league and some of the other leagues that I have worked in.
MQ: Coach, from all of us at Soccer Laduma we wish you a blessed festive season and everything of the best in the very crucial remaining games of the year.
SC: Okay, pleasure. Thank you Sir. Bye.
