Drago joins Gunners as headcoach

Mochudi Centre Chiefs’ reject coach Dragojlo Stanojlovic has joined Peleng giants Extension Gunners where he assumes duty this Thursday. The Serbian mentor who was recently shown the door for poor performance by Chiefs was incidentally identified by the Lobatse outfit as the right man to steer the club out of the relegation quagmire in which they find themselves.

Gunners’ Vice Chairperson Oduetse Langwane confirmed Drago’s appointment to BG Sport on Wednesday, shortly after the club officials had concluded talks with him over the lunch hour. This latest development at Gunners comes shortly after the club was unceremoniously dumped by coach Mike Sithole whose desire for greener pastures landed him at Chiefs. In what now has been a straight swap of coaches, several Gunners supporters took to social media on Wednesday evening to express their dissatisfaction with the appointment, many arguing that it was ill-timed.

Most of them believe that the Gunners management has been hasty in their appointment of Drago, and have called on the club to not behave like they are desperate. Others have however appealed for patience, arguing that the Serbian had not failed at Chiefs but was rather under pressure especially given the suspension of his key players. Yet Gunners’ Vice Chairman maintains they have appointed the right man for the precarious situation they are in. Curiously, the club’s chairperson who is usually media friendly declined to comment on the appointment, saying inquiries should be directed to Langwane who was handling the appointment. Said Langwane, “We want him to lead us to the Top 8 as that’s what we are aiming for.

We believe he is the right man to help us achieve that and we will support him as much as we can.” Given the financial problems that have recently been reported to be dogging the club, Langwane made an assertion that “today’s Gunners is different from the Gunners of the past. We are a united force now and we will. Previously we had problems paying our players but now we are not owing anyone.”

Drago joined Chiefs at the start of the season amid pomp and fanfare and was touted as the man who would help the club win every domestic title in accordance with the club’s vision shortly after it was fully privatised. He endured a rough patch with results not convincing in the early days of his stint at the club. He often complained of indiscipline at the club, blaming much of it on the poor performance of the club. When his side was knocked out of both the Top 8 and the CAF Champions League, it was clear the Chiefs’ management would not keep him for long.

He was eventually shown the door and has been lingering in the country until Gunners decided to speak to him. His first assignment, Langwane said, will be this weekend in their all-or-nothing clash against ECCO City Greens. The Peleng side comes into the game fresh from two consecutive wins – a 6-1 crushing of Miscellaneous and a 2-1 victory over FC Satmos last weekend.  Thabo Motang, who has been interim headcoach after Sithole’s departure, goes back to his role as an assistant.