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Magesi FC coach Clinton Larsen has revealed what it took to revive defender Limbikani Mzava, who was contemplating early retirement at 31.
The Malawian international had spent two seasons in the wilderness without a club despite experience gained from a decade in the PSL.
Following their promotion to the topflight in May and the need to bolster the team, Larsen says recruiting Mzava was a no-brainer.
''Yes, Mzava was ready to quit, you're right about that. But I gave him a call in pre-season and my fitness coach follows him on instagram, he was keeping very fit at the gym. So I knew it would take a very short space of time to get him right physically. So after calling him he agreed to come down for an assessment and from the first time I could see that it he the same old Mzava I knew at Bloemfontein Celtic when I signed him as a 19 year-old, and he has come in with maturity, always giving advice to the younger players, making my job a lot more easier as well,'' said Larsen.
The veteran Mzava is now part of a team Larsen believes can only get better over the course of the season, especially on the back of their Carling Knockout title win against Mamelodi Sundowns.
''I think that's going to come with experience. Performances will always fluctuate when you have got such a young inexperienced team. I think that mid-way through the season or in the second part of the season - we will start to see the team manage games a little bit better and start believing in themselves a little bit more. So that will improve with time, they just need to believe in themselves. A lot of them are still doubting if they deserve to play at this level,'' added Larsen.
Larsen’s focus now is to find stability in the Betway Premiership and to do that the coach will borrow from their journey to the topflight last season.
''When I arrived at the club, I think they had lost 6-0 to JDR, if I am not mistaken - they were panicking. In that first half of the season it was all about building stability, of which we did and in the second half I really had a strong feeling that we could push, we had brought in some key players - Motsie Matima, Wonderboy Makhubu and I knew that with this group of players and the players promoted from the ABC Motsepele League we could put together a strong team. The simple plan worked for us and we found ourselves in the PSL'' he expressed.
He admits Magesi have the worst numbers in the league and are still likely to be involved in a relegation scrap. But Larsen insists his group does not give up easily.
