Ikapa Sporting will not fill the vacant head coach position – for now.
This is the latest development communicated to No Bones with Jones after the club’s chairman Shaun Petersen “mutually agreed” to part ways with the former coach Rowan Hendricks over the weekend.
The club’s technical director Zane Ryklief, along with the assistant coach Gareth Ngaca, has now been given the mandate to steer the club in the right direction after Hendricks’ shortcomings were exposed at this level.
Despite this, Ryklief commended Hendricks for his input over the previous three months adding that there are positives to work with going forward.
“The coach (Hendricks) has done a fantastic job firstly,” Ryklief told our website. “If I look at the game over the weekend, although Ikapa lost it wasn’t easy for FN Rangers. I will look at the positives and just try to add to that. The team has the potential and we are going to work with what we have and try to improve on that with myself and Gareth,” said Ryklief who is currently busy with his Caf A-licence.
Ryklief and Ngaca, will have some time to impose their philosophy on the team with the break of over a month for the festive season that just kicked in.
“So, we’ll do an assessment. This break gives us a couple of weeks at least to have a thorough look. The departure of the coach came as a major shock to them (players). So, emotionally we don’t know where the players are at. Our first session is tomorrow (Tuesday 5 December). It will be more or less of a chat and then maybe a game situation.
“And also to tell them what we are all about because they don’t know us. So, that is the important thing as changes are happening and it is about us getting to know them and them getting to know us,” he further added.
Ryklief highlighted one aspect from a coaching perspective he would like to enhance is that of the man-management of the players.
“I find this is a very important dynamic as one needs to know the type of individual (player) that you are dealing with,” he explained. “What are their (personal) circumstances at home and their challenges. A lot of the players in our squad do not come from wealthy homes.
“For me, we want to win things but changing lives and developing players, turning them into good citizens are just as important. Respect, discipline and good morals and values are things that can be with you long after the football career is over, you know. It is that holistic make-up of the players which constitutes a successful human being. That said we want to create a winning mentality in our group and to achieve things in the near future,” he concluded.
