Shock was the only reaction that united BTC league champions Township Rollers’ fans, players and managers are after head coach, Nikola Kavazovic bid his players and technical farewell on Thursday before he upped and left.
Now that the initial shock has worn off, the team has disbanded into a cacophony of sentiments. The gamut of attitudes range from those who feel the head coach acted unprofessionally and should have discussed his resignation with his principals and those who relish his departure as good riddance.
Rollers Communications Manager, Bafana Pheto said the Rollers family was shocked by the coach’s impending ‘resignation.’ Nikola has told his players after the Thursday match against Police in the dressing room before the team dispersed that it was his last appearance for Rollers as a coach.
“We don’t know whether he has resigned or not. We haven’t met him and he has not told management anything. We were only told by shocked players that the coach has bid them farewell.’
“We will treat it as a rumor until he informs us or write us a resignation letter”, he said
When Sunday Standard Sport contacted the coach for comment, Nikola was brief “sorry no comment bye” before slamming the phone on the reporter.
Pheto told Sunday Standard that Nikola has been on the wanted list of many clubs across the continent since Rollers’ good performance in the recent CAF Champions league where the team qualified for the first time to the group stages.
Pheto dismissed talk that the coach was no longer in good terms with the team chief fancier, Jagdish Shah who is also the president of the club. “No that one I don’t know what I know is that they are in cordial relationship and there has never been any clash on misunderstanding between the two.”
Sunday Standard has however learnt that Shah and Nikola are not in talking terms and that Shah feels the coach is difficult to control.
“Management must just let him go because he is very difficult to handle. He often clashes with players and undermines management” said a supporter who is close to management.
Nikola’s abrasive attitude has not endeared him to sports reporters and had numerous clashes with them.
Rollers is understood to be talking to Drago to be the care taker coach assisted by the goalkeeper coach, Thabo Motang.
Shah is reported to be in United States of America on private business. Rollers management was expected to meet Nikola on Friday afternoon.
Nikola is likely to join the South African ABSA premier league side, Baroka FC. The current coach of Baroka FC Wedson Nyirenda has been given the mid week game against Black Leopards as a last chance to redeem himself or face the axe.
Baroka is playing black leopards on Wednesday at Peter Mokaba Stadium.
