In a shocking twist of events, the Marumo Gallants have made a surprise U-turn and announced the appointment of Dan Malesela as the club’s new head coach ahead of the start of the 2024/25 Betway Premiership.
This comes after Dylan Kerr, who was tasked with spearheading the Gallants’ return to the top-flight league following the successful acquisition of Moroka Swallows resigned with immediate effect, just 21 days after his return to the club was announced,.
“Marumo Gallants Football Club announces the appointment of Dan Malesela as the club’s new head coach. coach. The appointment comes as part of the Gallants’ efforts to strengthen the technical team and address delays in finalising the squad for the upcoming season,” the club statement read.
The club statement further revealed the reason behind Kerr’s resignation, indicating the 57-year-old The Maltese-born coach was against the idea of having a co-coach alongside him in the dugout, resulting in in a split in what was a third spell between the two parties.
“Meanwhile, following disagreements with the management team regarding the coaching structure and other management processes, coach Dylan Kerr has resigned with immediate effect.” the club stated.
On the other hand, Malesela was unattached following his suspension at Baroka FC during the PSL. relegation/promotion playoffs and was subsequently relieved of his duties with Morgan Mammila. replacing him at the helm.
The 59-year-old mentor also returns for his third stint at the club and will be tasked with turning Bahlabane Ba Ntwa into an established top-division side, in addition to winning at least one domestic trophy according to the targets President Sello Abram previously set for Kerr.
The Gallants have so far bolstered their squad with the signing of Zimbabwean winger Daniel Msendami. from Botswana Premier League champions Jwaneng Galaxy, beating DR Congo and Tanzanian giants TP Mazembe and Simba SC, respectively, to his signature.
The Bloemfontein-based club will be working around the clock to trim their squad ahead of their opening league game against the Nasreddine Nabi-led Kaizer Chiefs at home, after inheriting several former Swallows players who still had existing contracts and retained some of the players they used in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
