Relegation-threatened KwaZulu-Natal-based Richards Bay Football Club has parted ways with head coach Kaitano Tembo.
Tembo joined the Premier Soccer League (PSL) outfit in the beginning of the 2023/24 season.
In a statement released on Christmas Day, the club said: “Richard’s Bay Football Club would like to announce the release of the coach, Mr Kaitano Tembo, with immediate effect.”
The club, which is based in the north coast of the province, is owned by Sifiso “Jomo” Biyela, who explained that former Lamontville Golden Arrows mentor Vusi Vilakazi will take over as the head coach until further notice.
“The club would like to thank the coach [Tembo] for his contribution during this season. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours,” the statement reads further.
String of poor results
The 53-year-old Tembo has endured a string of poor results since he took over at Richards Bay FC.
Although he guided the Natal Rich Boyz to their maiden Telkom Knockout semi-final against Stellenbosch FC, that was not enough to convince the team’s management.
Richards Bay FC lost the match 3-0. The team went on to succumb to a 2-1 defeat at home to Chippa United recently.
On Sunday, they lost 1-0 to Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium near Soweto, which seems to have put the final nail in the coffin for the Zimbabwe-born Tembo.
The second-half saw both Chiefs coach Cavin Johnson and Tembo making changes, with Johnson looking to extend Amakhosi’s lead and get that cushion goal.
Tembo, meanwhile, was desperate to get an equaliser and move further away from the drop zone. They are currently languishing in position 15 on the PSL log.
Even so, they were not able to create clear goal-scoring opportunities that would trouble Chiefs goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma.
When the referee blew the final whistle, the Rich Boyz left the calabash empty-handed while the Glamour Boys rejoiced and ended their year on a high.
Tembo replaced Vasili Manousakis, who was shown the door along with his assistants Simo Dladla and Ronnie Gabriel following poor results in the second half of their debut season.
The Zimbabwean previously coached Sekhukhune United and SuperSport United, where he won the MTN8 in 2019.
