COACHING TEAM

ASSISTANT COACHES MAY BE MORE IN THE BACKGROUND BUT ARE OFTEN DOING THE MOST WORK IN THE TECHNICAL TEAM

- Mark Gleeson

A coach and his assistant need to be like a married pair; faithful, loyal, even loving but also independent and maybe sometimes bloody-minded.

The best combinations are complimentary and South African football has a long history of coaching duos who have achieved great feats in the local game.

It is the coach who is in the firing line, who is the public face and who takes the flack if things are going wrong both from irritated management and infuriated supporters. After all, the buck stops with him.

But, oftentimes, it is the assistant coach who does the bulk of the work on the training ground, scouting and building the connection with the players.

Additionally, the demands of the modern game dictate that there is little margin for error and one man can no longer do all the work. It is a collective effort to stay at the top as witnessed by Mamelodi Sundowns and their complicated coaching structure over the last seasons.

A hard-working assistant is much in demand, who can take on most of the finicky aspects of the job, but also is a good sounding board.