Lehlohonolo Seema relishing CAF assignment to kick start Sekhukhune United era

His first assignment as Babina Noko mentor is away to Morocco side RS Berkane in their CAF Confederation Cup group stage opener tonight.

Although Seema is familiar with international football as an ex-Lesotho and Orlando Pirates captain, he says the contrast now as a coach will be vast.

"I've played a lot of games in CAF but definitely there's a huge difference between being a player and being a coach. As a player, you are going there to go and perform and then you are waiting to get the instructions from the coach and then try to carry them out and solve problems inside the field of play while playing," Seema said.

Sekhukhune is Seema’s sixth job in the Premier Soccer League and he adds you need to be more than a problem solver when in his position.

"But as a coach you have to go even deeper, you analyse the opponents and you have to make sure you come up with a plan. How you gonna stop the opponents and how you gonna attack the opponents and try to win the match," he added.

Berkane were crowned Confederation Cup winners in 2022, beating Orlando Pirates in the final – so Seema is aware of their threat in a group that also includes Congolese side Diables Noirs and Stade Malien from Mali.

"It's a very tough group and if you check our first opponents, they've won the Super Cup, they've won it once also. They've won the very same competition once and we have to be at our best and make sure that we try and come up with solutions especially playing away," the coach explained.

This being Seema’s first game at the helm since taking over from Brandon Truter, the 43-year-old suggested he might take a conservative approach against Berkane.

"We do not concede a lot of goals if it happens that we concede while we make sure that we win the game or we get a draw. So, it's gonna be a very difficult group and we will box very smart but I think it's a group where we fancy our chances. We will work hard and see how far we can go."