Former Moroka Swallows star Lucas Sebona has warned the club to abandon their plans to dismiss players.
A chairperson of the Swallows disciplinary committee has recommended that the club sack all 22 players who were part of the squad that led to the failure to honour the two fixtures against Mamelodi Sundowns and Lamontville Golden Arrows in December.
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Sebona says such a decision will hurt the cash-strapped club both financially and football-wise. 'Makhokhoba' believes by their actions Swallows are paving their way to relegation.
"To be honest, such a decision is going to cost Swallows quite a lot," Sebona tells KickOff.
"They were supposed to use their reserve side in both the Sundowns and Arrows games. It's better to lose 10-0 than to be fined a million rand. That's what the DStv Diski Challenge is for, those boys they are not there to be bystanders. So, whoever is going to take the place of the 22 players will be under a huge pressure. The team will not be balanced.
"Let's not forget that Swallows don't believe in their reserve side, I have never seen them bringing to the senior team two or three DDC players, instead they prefer to sign players from outside on loan. A team overhaul at this stage of the season would be throwing whoever is brought in, into the deep end, otherwise they are going straight into relegation," Sebona added.
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"I suspect the club is cursed when it comes to finances. But still, we cannot blame the chairman alone, the management should not be recommending players the club cannot afford. A team overhaul will need us to be patient with the new boys who will be brought in, and at the moment patience is something we don't have.
"We have already lost six points without a fight, and bear in mind we are already in the second round. If you communicate better with your players you could be able not to pay your players for three months, and maybe pay half of your squad to avoid seeing players with empty stomachs.
"I'm saying Swallows is cursed when it comes to finances because the very same money issues used to happen in our era. But fortunately for us, the former chairman David Chabeli would pay us from the gate takings.
"So the only solution in their current situation is to sit down with the current players and talk things out. They should wait until the end of the season before thinking of overhauling their team. That would allow the coaches to phase out the current players slowly while at the same time, they will be introducing the DDC players slowly.
"You can't change a whole team in the middle of the season, they are heading straight into relegation, I'm telling you."