Durban City boss Khalil welcomes former Bafana player Ethan Brooks

Durban City coach Khalil Ben Youssef says the arrivals of former Bafana player Ethan Brooks and Alou Doumbia can help revive the club’s season after a difficult start.

The KZN side have failed to win any of their four matches in all competitions so far, losing two and drawing two. Ben Youssef believes the squad will become stronger as more players arrive and become available.

Doumbia has already been registered and could provide an alternative at left-back, where Durban City have relied heavily on John Mokone. The coach confirmed the club received the player’s registration card on the eve of the latest update.

“Doumbia, he’s registered now. Yesterday we received his card so he’s able to help the team. Fortunately for us, now we have another solution on the left side,” said Ben Youssef.

“It was only John [Mokone] the solution on the left side, so fortunately for us. There are three players also. Soon the team will announce three players.

“And I think when they will be ready to play with us, they will give us more support in the last third and in front of the box.”

Ben Youssef also expects Brooks to strengthen the midfield after the player trained with the team before completing his move. The coach said the midfielder would give Durban City greater flexibility in the centre of the pitch, although he remains particularly keen to improve the team’s options in attacking areas.

“Ethan Brooks is a midfielder, he will give us support in the middle. He was with us; he was making training sessions with us,” he said.

“We are so happy that he will join the team and he will give us more solutions and more support in the middle. But like I said, the most important thing for us is in the last third. So, there are two or three players that will sign with us.

“So, when they will be able to play, they will give us more solutions. Because like I said, 20 or 21 players is difficult. We took the risk, 120 minutes on Saturday, after two days 90 minutes, after two days 90 minutes.”

The coach said Durban City’s limited squad had made it difficult to rotate players during a demanding run of fixtures. He compared their situation with that of teams managed by coaches who have larger groups of players to call upon.

“So, it’s a big risk for the players, so, normally we need to rotate. But unfortunately, there are other coaches with big squads,” said Ben Youssef.

He added that the number of matches had already become a concern, but said Durban City could only manage the workload properly once their incoming players were ready to contribute.

“So today they were complaining about the number of games. So, what we have to say is, if we don’t have a solution, to rotate.”

Ben Youssef is therefore hoping the expected additions, alongside Brooks and Doumbia, can give Durban City enough depth to share the workload and provide more attacking support as the season progresses.