It is easy to call Dan “Dance” Malesela a sucker for pain, but anyone who’s spent some time unemployed will surely know how tough it is to survive.
Malesela became the latest casualty in the top-flight yesterday morning after he was released by Marumo Gallants after a string of poor results.
The 59-year-old was sacked – alongside technical director Molefi Ntseki – after leading the side to four wins, three draws, and 10 losses in the Betway Premiership.
Sure, that could only ensure they are 14th on the log, one point ahead of the side which is occupying the relegation/automatic spot Magesi, but Malesela had actually done well.
He led the side to the Carling Knockout semi-final, while they are in the Nedbank Cup quarter-final in which they’ll face First Division side Durban City.
And so, given all that, it was premature for the club to sack Malesela. Not only could he still fight against relegation but could still win the Nedbank Cup crown as well.
But such is the business of football, bosses are sometimes as impatient as the fans. A feat that was proven by Gallants who appointed Abdeslam Ouaddou as the new coach even before sacking Malesela.
The external observer and naysayer is probably laughing at Malesela for being without a job given that is not the first, but the third time he’s been shown the door by the club.
But Malesela speaking on Prime Time Sports a few years ago opened up about the struggles of his merry-go-round with some of his former bosses, including Chippa United’s Siviwe Mpengesi.
Malesela vowed that he’d never go back to Chippa again after having a handful stint at the club having been hired and sacked by the “trigger-happy” boss at freewill.
And so, many would have expected him to put his money where his mouth is regarding Gallants, especially given that Dylan Kerr – and not him – was the preferred candidate in winter.
But it seems for old time’s sake Malesela decided to give his relationship with Gallants’ president Abram Sello, who bought the status of Moroka Swallows this season, another chance.
And boy, that has backfired badly. Malesela, though, must leave the Gallants job with his head held high. He tried to do what he could with an inherited squad and old guards.
The chunk of the players who are at Gallants come from the defunct Swallows, and the club had to buy some free agents to plug a few loopholes.
Malesela, despite the limited resources at his disposal tried to make something out of nothing given the fact that he left the team two points away from safety with 13 games to play.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns’ assistant coach and player has always, for a long time, infused his philosophy on the players and won over the supporters.
He did that in less than a season at Gallants. His players gelled together as a united team, while the people of Bloemfontein were starting to embrace the team as their own.
Gallants were newly called “Siwelele Sa Marumo” as the staunch supporters of the defunct Bloemfontein Celtic tried to bring their DNA to the club’s culture.
Sello might come back to regret his decision especially if they don’t do well as Malesela did at home and end up running the risk of losing the buzzing fanbase of Mangaung.
Yes, Malesela admitted three years ago that he was not a desperate man for a job, but like anyone else, he still has a family to take care of and bills to pay.
And so that’s why you can’t really blame him for going in and out of coaching jobs at the same clubs. The economy is in tatters out there!