Polokwane City boss Bayano Moloto targets CAF Confederation Cup place

Bayano Moloto says his ambition is to guide Polokwane City to third place in the Betway Premiership, secure qualification for the CAF Confederation Cup and win one of the domestic trophies available this season.

Moloto began his second spell in charge with a 2-1 away victory over Richards Bay at the weekend, after succeeding Phuti Mohafe as head coach.

The result provided an encouraging start to his return, but Moloto has set his sights on a strong finish to the campaign rather than simply stabilising the side.

“The plan is to finish in the top four and go to one of the semifinals and lift one of the cups and try to get position three. Maybe we can also qualify for the CAF Confederation Cup. That’s the aim we want to achieve at the end of the day,” Moloto said.

Mohafe had led Polokwane City to a top-eight finish before leaving the club. Moloto, who previously departed Rise and Shine in 2021, said his return was not entirely unexpected because of his continued relationship with chairman Johnny Mogaladi.

“I knew because when I left the team in 2021, I asked the blessing from the chairman [Johnny Mogaladi], and every time we met, even when I was working in Ghana [Real Academicals Soccer Academy], we kept on communicating, and he said one day I will come back and take over the team,” he said.

Moloto added that his return happened sooner than he had anticipated, describing it as a positive development after spending a long period away from his family.

“But I think it came early. We always plan but God decides, so I can say it was a blessing in disguise for me also to be with the family because I have been away from my family for a long time.”

Polokwane City’s immediate attention is now on their MTN8 quarter-final against Mamelodi Sundowns. The match will be played at Lucas Moripe Stadium at 18:00.

Although Moloto has taken charge, he does not intend to make major changes to the team’s approach. He said training had progressed well and praised the players for adapting to the style of play being implemented.

“The preparations have been going well and I’m happy with the progress of the players and what we have implemented in terms of style of play, even though I’m not going to change much. But there is a lot of improvement.”

The future of defender Thabang Matuludi at Polokwane City remains uncertain, but Moloto said the player continues to feature in his plans. He also warned Matuludi against moving to a bigger club if that could damage his chances of playing regularly for South Africa.

“It doesn’t make sense to go to a bigger team, and at the end of the day you lose your spot in the Bafana Bafana squad, because we want him to be one of the regulars in the national team.”

Readers can join Sowetan’s WhatsApp channel to receive the latest news directly on their mobile devices.