Theo Hempe (pictured) has finally lifted the lid following his departure as head coach from the soon-to-be relegated ABC Motsepe League outfit Batalions FC.
The former Cape Town Spurs pro-player parted ways with the club a couple of weeks ago “due to the fact that the club’s vision did not align” with his.
The Paarl-based franchise could only manage one win from 13 matches leaving them rooted at the bottom of their Stream (B) since early on in the season already.
Hempe who lives by the motto ‘honesty is the best policy’ informed his chairman, Moesien Rauff, who also owns the Inter Africa Football Academy which is based in Kenilworth, that it was in the best interest of both parties to part ways.
Hempe explained to No Bones with Jones: “I wasn’t happy with the direction the club was moving in, especially the amateur club and juniors as I developed them the last few seasons into very good teams and individual players. The club’s vision and mine just weren’t falling in line.
“I just became disillusioned and I’ve been too long in football and I felt I had to make a change to enjoy football again and follow my own path. There was no fault from the club or the coaches. I just felt it was time to move on as I was not enjoying going to the club anymore and when you don’t enjoy something, you cannot give 100%. I couldn’t do that to the team and Inter Africa FC as the main club, you know.
“The coaches didn’t want me to leave but I felt it was the right time as I have other projects that I’m busy with that I still love doing and it’s rewarding.”
Rauff bought the status of Batalions at the beginning of the season and it was clear from the outset that Hempe had his work cut out for him.
“I think for the Motsepe team not being able to have a preseason was detrimental and the club was forced to sign many players at short notice that otherwise might not have been able to play Motsepe League.
“I think it was abundantly clear after a few matches that the squad wasn’t good enough to compete. The biggest challenge was there was a lack of quality players because they were already signed by other teams so there was no real pool to select from.
Look, I obviously wish them well as I want the team to do well. I will still stay in touch with them to motivate them and wish them well even before each match. It was my decision to move on and to find a different challenge.” the passionate Hempe concluded.
