Ernst Middendorp to be given time - Swallows chairman

The Dube Birds appointed the German mentor in December with the hope he can help the club retain its DStv Premiership status. 

Currently third from bottom on the table with 11 games to go, Mogashoa says there’s no pressure on the coach other than to stay up and adds that, should they avoid the drop in fewer games, he won’t raise expectations.

"You correctly said it is a project, I expect him to build the club. Sometimes we rush the coaches and say, 'You come in, we want to finish top eight or we want top five' – we don't want those things," Mogashoa told SABC Sport.

"We understand the club had challenges, so you can't put a coach under pressure with all those challenges. We want him to work through the system with us, and make sure that at least this season we maintain [the status] and survive relegation comfortably."

After finding the club in 14th position with 13 points after just three wins from 13 matches, Middendorp has so far managed two wins and collected a total of eight points from their last seven league outings.

He will be hoping to collect back-to-back wins in the DStv Premiership when Swallows face Cape Town City in Cape Town this Sunday (15:00).