Free State Stars head coach Themba Sithole believes his experience and that of his right-hand man Kinnah Phiri will be handy when the South Africa Premiership battles resume.
“The team is ready and I think that the experience I have brought from all the international courses I have attended, along with my assistant Kinnah Phiri, we will take the team to where it needs to be,” Sithole told www.freestatestarsfc.co.za during the week.
“We have worked hard in the full-month break. The players have done well and were responsive to the system we introduced.
“The main objective of the Lesotho tournament was to test the physical condition of the players because when you train, you have to practise.
We use these to polish ourselves before the opening of the season,” he said.
Stars drew one-one against Lioli FC of Lesotho last Thursday in what
was their final friendly match before the Absa Premiership resumes.
Stars lie second from the bottom of the 16-member South African league, hence the recent sacking of coach Steve Komphela and the subsequent elevation of his assistant Sithole as head coach followed by the recalling of Kinnah.
The former Flames coach Kinnah rejoined Stars recently for a third stint having first arrived in South Africa in 2005. He made his mark on his second return in 2007 when he guided the Stars to a fifth-place league finish, their best record so far in the Premier Soccer League.
