Baroka FC Chairman Khurishi Mphahlele has expressed his concern regarding the worrying trend that involves Limpopo clubs being in the relegation places each season. He admits that constant relegation dogfights between the clubs in this region makes for poor viewing across the nation.
After surviving a relegation battle last season, Baroka have had a decent campaign in the League this time around and are comfortably clear of the relegation places with nine games left. Mphahlele voiced his happiness over the position his club finds itself but remains not fully convinced with the progress they have made this year and believe there is a lot more to be achieved in the future.
“So far so good, the boys are playing a good brand of football, we are doing well. I’m happy and I believe we will be finish in a good position” Mphahlele said in an interview.
“Also, we can’t be expecting a lot, this is progress. We can’t move from relegation to fight for championship. We must be patient, Baroka FC are still a work in progress.”
Mphahlele believes this trend of constant relegation battles every year is caused due to a lack of resources and longevity, compared to some teams higher up the standings who have a more dated history than them.
“It really does worry us, but remember we are fighting with teams that have been in football for centuries. They have more resources than us. As I said, we are still building but we can’t runaway from the reality that it doesn’t look good for Limpopo teams to always fight relegation.” he added.
Teams from the KwaZulu-Natal region also fall into the same category as the Limpopo Clubs who are also synonymous with constant battles against the drop. Black Leopards are 16th in the league and six points from safety while Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila are not far off, being 14th in the League and only two points clear of the relegation zone. Elsewhere, Maritzburg United are 13th in the league and two points clear of the drop. In a nutshell, it explains that all sides from the region in one way or the other find themselves in the battle against relegation.
Baroka FC currently sit in ninth place, seven points clear of the drop. They take on Maritzburg United in their next fixture.