Aces’ coach gets nomination
Mpumalanga Black Aces coach Clive Barker said he was delighted and honoured to have been nominated as the Coach of the Year alongside Mamelodi Sundowns' Pitso Mosimane and Kaizer Chiefs' Stuart Baxter.
The humbled Aces coach, Barker told Mpumalanga News that even though he was nominated in the Premier Soccer League’s category, he still believed that Mosimane deserved to win after having successfully guided his team to its first-ever Premiership glory in seven years.
“I think Mosimane deserves to be rewarded for his hard work. His team performed where it mattered most and the quality of their game deserves top honours.
I am delighted for his part,” Barker said.
“It is notably humbling, though, to have been nominated and to be honest, I believe we have done well as a team which recently attained promotion via the play-offs. This nomination actually marks the fantastic season we have had and it’s because of a combined effort between top management, the players and the coaching department.”
While many soccer pundits have strongly criticised the inclusion of the Kaizer Chiefs’ Baxter in this category, they have given all thumbs up for Barker’s inclusion, arguing that he took Aces from nowhere and turned them into a formidable and competitive side.
It can be said they are the reason that Kaizer Chiefs failed to defend the PSL title after beating them 1-0 in an all-important and a must-win match for Chiefs.
At one stage, it looked as if Aces were headed for the relegation zone, but the team surprised the soccer fraternity when it turned the corner and managed to make it to the top eight in its first season of the PSL.
“We would like to congratulate Barker for being nominated and wish him luck. This proves that he has done remarkably well for the team and we hope he will continue with his good work when the league resumes next season.
“We are hopeful for another clinical finish and maybe throw in one or two silver wares in our cabinet,” said Gordon Masondo.
