Back to business for all PSL clubs
All Premier Soccer League clubs are now officially back to work preparing for the upcoming season.
On Wednesday, Ajax Cape Town and Maritzburg United became the last sides to return from holidays and begin their work ahead of the new campaign.
On Monday, AmaZulu, Kaizer Chiefs, SuperSport United and champions Orlando Pirates report back for training while Tuesday marked the start for Bidvest Wits, Mamelodi Sundowns, Moroka Swallows and Platinum Stars.
Swallows coach Gordon Igesund will have to tell his players about his future plans with the possibility he might be moving to the Bafana Bafana job by the end of the month.
Pirates have already announced that Oupa Manyisa, Andile Jali and Tokelo Rantie will be given more time off to rest after three weeks of national team duty. Mentioning Rantie, however, seems a little presumptive on the part of the Buccaneers given it is not sure what the immediate future of the young striker is. He is on loan from Sweden and could be headed back to Europe.
“I’m sure all the players are excited at the prospect of beginning our pre-season training,” said Pirates coach Augusto Palacios on his club’s website, obviously forgetting his own playing days when the first few days of training were torturous on the legs after several weeks of having had his feet up.
Chiefs are planning to start their first week of work with a press conference on Thursday at which they will expand on their plans and ambitions under Stuart Baxter … and try and deal with some of the negative reports about the new coach which grabbed headlines last month.
First to return to training were new boys Pretoria University, followed by Lamontville Golden Arrows, Black Leopards, Free State Stars and Bloemfontein Celtic last week.
Santos coach Mart Nooij said if his team stays up they will treat the current play-offs as the start of their pre-season work.
