Johnny Ferreira admits that a club like Uthongathi FC have to live with the fact that they are a selling club rather than one that can readily buy new players.
The GladAfrica Championship outfit have only just got their season underway following an ownership issue that struck the Premier Soccer League’s First Division.
After that was resolved, the club made a strong start to the campaign by thumping Ajax Cape Town 3-0 on September 1.
The win came a day before the transfer deadline closed and coach Ferreira has looked back at some of their business.
Uthongathi does not usually make big signings, but they did exactly that during the transfer window by roping in former Orlando Pirates midfielder Issa Sarr.
The 32-year-old was without a club since leaving the Buccaneers more than a year ago. Ferreira, though, says they have to find the right balance in terms of who plays for the club, adding that in his opinion, the Durban-based side should only be recruiting local players from within the province on KwaZulu-Natal.
One player they managed to keep hold of during the off-season was Celimpilo Ngema. The 21-year-old midfielder is rated extremely highly by Ferreira, who says that there was interest in signing what he describes as an ‘Absa Premiership quality player’, but the interested party was not prepared to meet their valuation.
The club finished fifth in the second tier last season, their second season of professional football. In their debut season they came 11th and their progress despite a host of behind-the-scene issues is plausible.
Ferreira says they are moving in the right direction and has backed them to again be competitive in 2019/20. – Report by Thahir Asmal
