Maritzburg United Chairman Farook Kadodia is pleased with the team’s progress in the 2019/20 season but hopes for further improvement next season.
The Team of Choice were the first PSL team to report back to training ahead of the 2020/21 season that gets underway in October.
Maritzburg United finished seventh in 2019/20 season after a 15th place in the previous term left them needing a win in the playoffs to stay in the top-flight. They also fell just short of claiming their first major silverware when they lost the Telkom Knockout final to Mamelodi Sundowns.
Maritzburg United target progress
In the new term, Maritzburg will no doubt target challenging for a spot in continental football while the cup competitions represent the club’s best shot at honours.
Kadodia thanked Maritzburg United’s fans for backing the club through thick and thin and hopes the players can reward their 12th man in the upcoming season.
“It was a good turnaround, and all parties played a role and a good job was done,” the Chairman stated in an interview with the club’s official website.
“From the board’s side, we fully supported the coach, quite a few new signings were made. And what was important in fighting relegation [at the end of the previous season] was to have a complete commitment from the fans.
“And the whole brand also grew stronger; the fact that we went to the Telkom Knockout final was also evidence of the work which has been done.
“Yes we were very happy with the league position. One must also understand that there was so much expectations from the people around us after the way we excelled in the February-March period, in essence going into the bubble was not good for us.”
Transfer market beckons
Kadodia said that while the club are keen to keep hold of their best players, they will not stand in the way of individuals who want to fulfil career goals elsewhere.
The Chairman has been willing to splash the cash to improve the squad before, and the same is true at the present time.
“We will make every effort to keep our best players, that’s our policy,” the Chairman added. “But we also don’t want to stand in the way of players who feel they want to advance their careers elsewhere.
“We will definitely beef up the squad. We want to have a team that is as competitive as possible and to keep on challenging, whether it’s in the cup or a strong top eight position in the league.
“We need six or seven new players.
“Our squad is quite thin, and you must understand that Siyanda Xulu left, Miguel Timm, Gabriel Nyoni and Yusuf Jappie are no longer part of the squad, so that has left a bit of a hole.
“We would like to cement our position every season in the top five, that is our goal. Then something can be seen for all our investment. At the moment it’s tough to attract a sponsor because it’s difficult when there are regular fights against relegation.”
