Kinnah reacts to firing
Legendary coach Kinnah Phiri, who was fired by South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) side Free State Stars on Friday, has said he saw it coming.
In an interview from South Africa on Saturday, Kinnah claimed Stars fired him because he was pressing them on their failure to fulfil some contractual obligations.
Ea Lla Koto are reported to have cited the team’s poor start to the season as the reason for sacking the former Flames mentor. They have lost all their three PSL games so far this season.
“Of course, the reason they are giving is poor performance, but that is just a loophole because they are to blame for the team’s poor showing.
“They [Stars] recently sold some key players and made R4 million [about K172 million] and I asked them to invest the money by buying quality players which we clearly lacked, but they were hesitant and as a result the team could not perform.
“But over and above that, they were not happy that I was pressing them on some contractual obligations which they were not fulfilling,” he said.
Kinnah also said there was a time he wanted to resign.
“I nearly resigned recently, but changed my mind because I feared that I would lose some of my benefits.”
He also accused the South African club of not appreciating what he did for them last season by taking the team from the murky waters of relegation to ninth position.
“When I took over, the team was at the bottom of the table [16th] and we won five straight matches and lost only one to finish on ninth position, but I guess it is one of those things,” he said.
The Flames mentor said once he will be returning home to rest a bit before looking for other opportunities.
Stars are reported to have replaced Kinnah with German Ernst Middendorp. n
