Black Leopards FC’s chairperson believes that the team could have finished at the top of the league log or secured a place in the promotional playoffs, had it not been for the minor challenges they had encountered along the way.

According to Mr Tshifhiwa Thidiela, the team should have finished their league programme among the top three teams in the recently concluded Motsepe Foundation Championship League. He said that they had had more positives than negatives this past season, despite having to fight to escape relegation in their last match.

Thidiela mentioned that for the team to find the right combinations early in the season had taken a while. Leopards were under the guidance of the Spanish head coach, Mr Alejandro Dorado Rodriguez, when the season started. The 39-year-old Rodriguez parted ways with Lidoda Duvha three months after his appointment to the team’s hot seat, following the team’s poor run in their first five league games. He was replaced by the former U/20 national team head coach, Mr Solly Luvhengo.

Black Leopards finished their league programme in the 10^th position on the log standings with 37 points. According to Thidiela, the team could have finished among the top three teams, had they managed to win their crucial three home games against Baroka FC, Magesi FC, and Venda Football Club.

He singled out two away games against Hungry Lions and Upington City, which they had lost 0-1. According to him, his team had been in full control of the two games and had conceded silly goals in the dying minutes.

When asked about the future of the current technical team with the club, Thidiela said that “there was no need to fix it if it is not broken.” He revealed that Luvhengo and his assistant will continue to be in charge of the team next season. Thidiela said that the team would resume their normal training sessions in the last week of June.