Maduka: We're still in the rebuilding process

by Staff Reporter

Thursday Oct 27, 2022. 13:00

Maritzburg United head coach John Maduka acknowledges he is under pressure but doesn’t believe their situation is as bad as the table suggests.

Maduka succeeded Ernst Middendorp at the helm during the off-season after parting ways with Royal AM, although his tenure has got off to a rocky start.

The Team of Choice suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat to defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns on Tuesday, which extended their winless run in the DStv Premiership to five games.

Maduka’s side are third from bottom in the standings after winning just two of their opening 12 matches, however, the Malawian tactician insists the rebuilding process will take some time to bear fruit.

“It’s not all lost because as much as we are building the team, we have been getting points. It’s not like we are in a bad, bad situation,” he declared.

“As a coach, the pressure will always be there but we take one game at a time and are looking forward to the coming game.

“I don’t know if my job is still safe. You must remember that we are trying to build a new team. You can see the players that we have introduced, most of them are new in the PSL.

“So, when you are building a new team you’ll have challenges along the way … it’s part of building the team and it’s part of growth.”

Maduka has pointed to a lack of goals as the main area of concern for the KZN outfit, who are the second lowest scorers in the league with just six, and he’s looking to address that problem during the January transfer window.

“It’s very important for us to get a few players in January,” he stressed. “The area that we think we must bolster is upfront because when you look at some of the games we drew, we were not clinical enough.

“So, we need one or two new strikers who will be able to help us score goals. The games we drew are the games I think we should have won.”