Richards Bay head coach Vusumuzi Vilakazi has promised to use his mission to help the club secure survival in the DStv Premiership as a way to show his potential as a young tactician.
The 41-year-old mentor presented a boastful figure after guiding the Natal Rich Boyz to a monumental win over Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday.
That 1-0 triumph saw the club make huge stride towards avoiding automatic relegation, as they stretched their lead over bottom-placed Cape Town Spurs to eight points.
Simphiwe Mcineka’s header also helped Richards Bay move to 20 points in 15th position, and within six points of 14th-placed Moroka Swallows with six games left in the campaign – with Spurs last on 12 points.
“Kanu”, as Vilakazi has been affectionately known since his playing days at Golden Arrows, was at first handed a senior position at Richards Bay when working side by side with then-coach Kaitano Tembo.
However, in December, he was handed the permanent position of head coach ahead of what was expected to be a difficult second round for the club currently in the play-off spot in the standings.
The results have certainly not been as Vilakazi would have liked in recent weeks, but his side’s win over the Amakhosi has raised the confidence levels around the camp, even pushing the coach to express his own goals.
“It’s very important for my profile and career to save Richards Bay. I was brave enough to accept the challenge. The chairman (Jomo Biyela) trusted me with a R65 million status and said ‘this young, upcoming coach will be able to save the team’,” said Vilakazi.
Thank You #NatalRichBoyZ 💙 pic.twitter.com/NMpu0XUNM1
— Richards Bay FC (@RichardsBayFC_) April 22, 2024
“What I am doing here isn’t child’s play, and there are more experienced coaches who wouldn’t have taken this job, seeing that the ship was sinking.
“I am brave, and I believe in myself. I am still saying that this isn’t the best of Kanu … People are yet to see Kanu as a coach.”
Richards Bay’s next league match might be their most important as they tackle a relegation six-pointer against Cape Town Spurs at Athlone Stadium tomorrow (7.30pm kick-off).
The Natal Rich Boyz go into this match having beaten the Dube Birds and Chiefs in back-to-back games, and Vilakazi believes that those results may hand them the psychological edge over their opponents.
On the opposite side, Ernst Middendorp has seen his Urban Warriors lose four games in a row.
📷 𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 ⚽️🏋♂️ #NatalRichBoyZ pic.twitter.com/yoYsHqUaO2
— Richards Bay FC (@RichardsBayFC_) April 23, 2024
“Playing away in Cape Town has never been easy, but I think we have an upper hand over them because we have the confidence from winning our last two games,’’ Vilakazi said.
“They haven’t won in four games, so I suspect they will make a lot of changes because they are looking for solutions.
“Sometimes a thing you think might be a solution can be a disaster, so we will try to capitalise on their weaknesses.”