06 Jun 2023

Jagdish Shah’s decision to quit Township Rollers has destabilised the team and adversely affected players, coach Sergio Traquil has said.

Shah left the Popa camp effective May 31 after the team’s membership refused to cede their 20 per cent stake of the club.

Agreement would have allowed Shah to have complete ownership and control of one of the biggest local football brands. Shah had 80 per cent of the club.

Talk had been rife during the season that Shah demanded total ownership of the club and  he threatened to quit if he did not get his way.

The situation was allegedly so volatile that players and some employees of the club got anxious about their future.

“We never expected this kind (Shah leaving) of thing to happen any time soon. This affected the boys a lot, but it is not an excuse. It is a reality,” said coach Traquil in an interview after Rollers walloped Nico United 2-0  in a premier clash on Saturday.

Although his future hangs in the balance, Traquil wants to remain part of the team in the next season. He believes that had the Shah situation not prevailed, Rollers would have had a great season.

“In some games the boys played wonderfully.  We attacked ferociously although we had anxiety to put the ball at the back of the net,” Traquil said.

“I can’t really talk about the whole season, but the second round which was not what I wanted.  We should have done better, but I really can’t fault anybody,” said Traquil, adding that he achieved a lot of his objectives despite the prevailing situation.

Amongst his achievements were finishing top four in the league and reaching Orange FA Cup semifinal where they were dumped out by their arch-rivals Gaborone United. Rollers finished fourth with 53 points.

Although he achieved his set objectives, Traquil would have loved to win the FA Cup for Popa supporters.

“It is still painful for me that I didn’t win the FA Cup which was my main objective,” he said.

Although his future is still foggy, Traquil would like to lead Rollers into the next season with a squad of his own, but he will have to wait to see how things pan out at the end.

Meanwhile, Nico coach, Rapelang Tsatsilebe, is a happy man after achieving his mandate.

Tsatsilebe was roped in March to help sustain the team’s premier league status. Nico finished on spot 11 with 36 points.

At the time of his appointment, Nico had accumulated 22 points and flying too close to lurking predators.

Tsatsilebe now hopes for a contract that would allow him to build Nico into a household name.

“I want to coach Nico because I’ve already started a process of transforming the team to becoming a big name,” said Tsatsilebe whose contract ends in July.

He also paid homage to the relegated teams attributing their eventual demise to the stiff competition.

Although they were down and out, Tsatsilebe believed the teams gave a good account of themselves, forcing opponents to solidify their attacks.

“It was a good season for all the teams in the league because of the tough competition there was,” said Tsatsilebe. ENDS