PIC: Durban City coach Pitso Dladla

Durban City coach Pitso Dladla has urged caution despite his side’s impressive run to the Nedbank Cup final, while also outlining his own coaching ambitions and praising veteran goalkeeper Darren Keet for his leadership and standards.

City will meet 2019 winners TS Galaxy in the May 2 final, a side they have already beaten twice in the league this season and in last year’s Nedbank Cup.

How did you see the Nedbank Cup semi-final win over Casric Stars?

Pitso Dladla: “In the first half we made things a little bit difficult. We had moments where we could have gone for a second goal but took our foot off the pedal and allowed them to play. At that stage it was about protecting what we had. We had to make sure we win the first ball and secure the second ball. Brooklyn Poggenpoel and Thabo Nodada did exactly that. A lot of work was done by the players – credit must go to them.”

How important was that win for the team’s confidence?

“In football you need luck, but you must make your own luck. It must be accompanied by hard work and proper planning. We must remain humble. Finals are very challenging and only the winners are remembered. Just imagine if we lost this game. I’m not saying we don’t respect Casric Stars, but they are playing in a lower division. Should we have lost this game, we were going to lose confidence. This win gives the players belief that they are good enough. We are ambitious and want to stay within touching distance of the teams that are above us. I believe that we’ll do well in the remaining games of the league.”

There has been talk about you becoming Durban City head coach on a permanent basis. What is your position on that?

“That question always comes. But I don’t know how I should answer that one. I want to make things clear, so that people don’t say the wrong things. I’ve got personal ambitions that I would like to achieve as a coach. I’ve missed opportunities to do my CAF A licence because I have commitments here at the club. So, I am still waiting for that chance to upgrade my coaching badges. At the moment, that is the most important thing for me.”

Does reaching the Nedbank Cup final and the possibility of continental football change the picture?

“There is a possibility of going to the Confederation Cup, but we also want to remain humble. We have to realise that we are just in the final, we haven’t won it. A final is a very challenging situation because if you are there, nobody will remember that you reached the final if you don’t win it. Only the winners are recognised and remembered. To coach in Africa, you need to have a CAF A licence. That justifies my ambitions, that I am not in a hurry. I support every decision that the chairman (Farook Kadodia) and board of directors will make. I want to make that one clear.”

This has been a successful season in league and cup …

“We are where we are because of the work that is being done behind the scenes. There are a lot of resources that have been injected into this project. I believe that with the leadership that we have, we can manage to do well in the league and the cup.”

Having kept three clean sheets in four Nedbank Cup games and won three penalty shootouts this season, what does goalkeeper Darren Keet bring to this side?

“Darren Keet is Darren Keet. Those who know him know what he is capable of. He is the kind of goalkeeper that, even if you give him an off day to nurse a certain injury, he pitches up at training. He likes training. He trains like a teenager. He helps us a lot. He likes keeping clean sheets, even at training. He fights with the guys. Sometimes he asks for the impossible at training. We would be playing small-sided games at training, and he would want a clean sheet even though it’s impossible. That’s Darren Keet for you. He has a great record in this competition. He has played 90 minutes, extra time and even penalties – and still kept a clean sheet in all of that in one match. He is a real, real leader.”