Greenwood Athletic chairman Noel Isaacs has described the club’s ‘new’ Third Division coach Warren Lotters (pictured) as the “Son of the soil” for (many) obvious reasons – and the “perfect choice.”
“One of them is that he has been at the club since a junior,” explained Isaacs. “He also played in the Vodacom league as a 17-year-old when we were in the league between 1995 and 2002, and also captained the team.
“Warren was the coach of our Bayhill squad for the past two years when we won the Plate Section. He knows the club’s culture and since we have a very young squad this season, Warren was the perfect choice as he has worked with most of the youngsters over the past three years. He is very vested in coaching education, and will soon be starting his CAF C-license,” Isaacs added.
Lotters moved into the hot seat after Brent Raven jumped ship a couple of weeks ago which caught the Retreat-based club completely off guard.
Needless to say, the Green Machine recovered well with Lotters’ appointment in a short space of time, and will now be assisted by another local and homegrown individual in Fadhiel Losper, who also has the green and yellow running through his veins. So, too does the manager Nadeem Fredericks.
But the trio will be judged by what they can produce in the upcoming campaign and Lotters is well aware that the expectations are high.
“I’ve been with the club now 34 years and I know that the demands are extremely high as we have been doing well the previous few seasons,” Lotters told No Bones with Jones.
“Everyone wants to win the league and there are some very tough teams in the league. I know the demands of the league as well and I have been the general manager for the first three seasons, so I know what is required. I intend to have a healthy culture and a healthy atmosphere,” he stated.
Lotters has also pleaded with the club’s fans not to expect “miracles” as the club has a long-term vision that starts from the junior structures and will hopefully filter through to the senior squad.
“I am actually part of the change as I was coach of the Bayhill team for the past few seasons. Our under-15’s are playing in the Dream Club 100 which started with 100 teams and is still part of the last 16. Our under-16’s also won the league and the Grand Challenge and we are also taking part in the 4TH Moment Super Cup.
“So, for me, it is about development and If I look at the squad at the moment, there are nine from the Bayhill team that are part of the Third Division squad now. So, that is my main focus. We need to strengthen and to take it to the next step.”
Despite the development of the youth and integrating them into the senior team, Lotters has emphasized that they will be good enough to compete with the best in the league.
“We also have to be realistic about matters and If I can stick my neck out I’d say that we are targeting a top-four finish for this season,” he concluded.
Lotters first test is on Tuesday (24 October) when they travel to Parow Park for a Nedbank Cup Round of 16 clash against Vasco da Gama.
