Following his departure from Venda Football Club (VFC) last Wednesday (October 4th), the former head coach of the team, Mr Joel Masutha, is not yet certain about his future. Masutha's resignation came after VFC lost 1-5 to Maritzburg United in their Motsepe Foundation Championship League match at the Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg.
Masutha's departure from the club did not come as a surprise as the team was struggling to collect points under his guidance. VFC had managed to collect only five points in six matches under Masutha's leadership.
"The Prophet", as he is widely known, joined the Thohoyandou side towards the end of last season. At that time, VFC were positioned near the relegation zone on the league standings. The team did manage to avoid relegation under Masutha's guidance at the end of the season. This likely led the team's management to offer him a new employment contract at the beginning of the current soccer season.
During an interview, the former Black Leopards head coach said that nobody had forced him to resign. According to him, his decision to quit was in the best interest of both the club and himself. He stated that he had tried everything to change the team's fortunes, but luck was not on their side. "I have decided to move on to allow the management to appoint a new coach who may come up with fresh ideas," he said.
He further mentioned that no bad blood existed between him and the club's chairman, Mr Itani Munzhelele. Munzhelele confirmed this, stating that his personal relationship with Masutha remained intact, and what had come to an end was their employer-employee relationship.
Regarding his next move after leaving VFC, the 51-year-old coach said that he had received several phone calls from DStv Premiership and Motsepe Foundation Championship clubs since last week. He mentioned that he was still considering the offers and that his unemployed status would soon be a thing of the past.
Mr Johnny Ferreira, who served as the technical director of the team for the past few weeks, has taken over as the team's head coach with immediate effect. VFC was defeated 0-1 by Baroka FC at the Malamulele Stadium last Sunday, with Ferreira giving instructions to the players from the team's technical bench for the first time.