Bloemfontein Celtic CEO rues Veselein Jelusic departure

by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Tuesday Jun 19, 2018. 15:00

Bloemfontein Celtic CEO Khumbulani Konco has expressed regrets on seeing coach Veselin Jelusic leave the club just before the 2018/19 Premier Soccer League season.

Konco admitted they wanted to keep the Serbian boss, but it was against their policy to force the coach to stay in Bloemfontein.

Reports emerged in the past few weeks that the coach was set to leave the club after rumours that Phunya Sele Sele was going to be sold.

Moreover, talks of unpaid salaries also unsettled the coach and he decided to leave the Mangaung-based side at the end of the previous term.

Jelusic spent a season at the Free State-based outfit, guiding them to an 11th place finish in the Absa Premiership.

“Notwithstanding is a legally binding contract that the team can impose to keep the coach for another season or so, however, we deemed it appropriate to cordially agree to his request and let him go,” Konco told his club’s website.

“As much as we would have loved to keep him, it will be against our policy to try and force him to stay.

“After deliberations, and [considering] the professional approach by the coach’s representatives towards the matter, we collectively agreed to release him from his contractual obligation with immediate effect.

“It is worth mentioning though, that Jelusic brought an indescribable spirit of unity and absolute allure into the team.

“His proficient conduct and utter commitment towards his job is what kept the team going and we respect him for that. We wish him all the best for his future endeavours.”