Former Flames captain Patrick Mabedi, who has been appointed South Africa Premier Soccer League (PSL) outfit Black Leopards first assistant coach, says he is not bitter for missing the Flames coaching job.
Mabedi was named Lidoda Duvha assistant coach on Wednesday alongside head coach Lionel Sokoya and team manager Mlungusi Ngubane.
His appointment comes just a week after Football Association of Malawi (FAM) opted for Meke Mwase to lead the Flames for the next 12 months.
But Mabedi said he was not bitter that he had been left out as he had several options.
“I had four offers my brother and remember God’s time is always the best,” said the former Kaizer Chiefs assistant coach.
The Leopards new technical panel takes over from Dylan Kerr, who quit just after managing to avoid relegation on the last day of the the 2018/19 PSL season in which the team finished 13th on the table.
Asked if the new job does not give him pressure, Mabedi said he was used to working under such conditions.
“I love pressure, but here there is no pressure at all. I will just have to do what I do best. I have been in this industry for years. Nothing new. If I managed to handle Kaizer Chiefs as caretaker coach and out of three games I won two and qualified for the Confederations Cup, I can handle everything,” he said.
Soccer analyst Charles Nyirenda said Mabedi is well-experienced for the job.
“He indeed did well at Chiefs where the pressure was just too much. I think he can handle Leopards as well,” he said.
Mabedi was made Chiefs caretaker coach in April 2018 when coach Steve Komphela stepped down following Chiefs 2-0 loss to Free State Stars in Nedbank Cup semi-final.
He resumed his assistant coach role under Giovanni Solinas only for Chiefs to fire both coaches after 21 games in December 2018.
