OPINION: Tembo needs to take SuperSport to the promised land  

SuperSport United are one of those teams who don’t like to fire a coach after one or two bad results much like one Siviwe “Chippa” Mpengesi of Chippa United and some of the club bosses up North.

Kaitano Tembo is in his third full season at the helm of SuperSport as he started acting in the role in March 2018 following Eric Tinkler’s departure when he lost the dressing room and almost relegated the club.

At the start of the 2018/19 season, Tembo was given the role on a permanent basis and has since gone on to reach the MTN8 final twice in a row, fallingl short in the semifinals this season. The United mentor won one of those finals, losing the other to Cape Town City, then coached by Benni McCarthy.

Winning a cup early on in the season is always unparalleled joy and that speaks to the level of preparation in pre-season and readiness when the ball gets rolling. But that should not be all that Matsatsantsa A Pitori aspire to.

SuperSport won the league three times on the spin  between 2007 and 2010 under Gavin Hunt, and have since failed to make into the top three in the last 10 years. But forget the other seasons, let’s focus on the Tembo years.

When he took over as interim coach, SuperSport finished seventh on the log in the 2017/18 season and when he was in his first season in charge as permanent head coach, Tembo improved the club’s position to sixth. Last season, the United mentor went one better again and finished in the top five.

That is quite progressive for Tembo, you might argue. However, if you put aside SuperSport’s league-winning seasons, you’d have to go as far back as the Castle Premiership era in 2002 and 2003 when they finished as runners-up to Santos and Orlando Pirates respectively, as they were then coached by Al-Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane.

Tembo needs to do better. He needs to get his team going and challenging crosstown rivals Mamelodi Sundowns for the league title. This team has been able to chisel out results against the biggest teams in the league. They do beat Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates most of the time and have outsmarted Masandawana on occasion.

Yes, SuperSport have established themselves as a team with a huge appetite for cups in recent years, but the league crown is more important and it is bigger than any other domestic cup.

It is time now that Tembo gels his academy boys with the experienced players to brew a mixture that will sustain his side throughout the season and ultimately see United put up a strong challenge for league honours.

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