It came as a surprise why Steve Komphela was seemingly active in the coaching market, after he came close to joining Sekhukhune United, and now the reason has been revealed.
As previously reported by this website, Komphela emerged as a favourite to take over at Sekhukhune after the acrimonious exit of former coach Lehlohonolo Seema.
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The former Mamelodi Sundowns mentor was reportedly one of the coaches interviewed by the Babina Noko management and he had impressed the hierarchy.
However, the Limpopo outfit ultimately leaned towards appointing Jwaneng Galaxy head coach Morena Ramoreboli, before the deal collapsed at an advanced stage of negotiations.
Information reaching this publication, from a well-placed source, is that the reason Komphela cast his net wide and was open to starting a new project elsewhere, is allegedly because Golden Arrows were considering not retaining the erudite tactician after he joined on a short term deal in March.
"Arrows wanted to replace Komphela with someone else, but they could not find a suitable replacement, hence they allowed him to come back," a source close to the club told KickOff.
The ex-Kaizer Chiefs coach is believed to be on a considerably high salary package, but Abafana Bes'thende were not necessarily concerned about the wages he's drawing.
"Yes, he is on a big package but that is not the issue why they wanted to replace him. The club were concerned about the results the team got at the end of last season and were considering their options," the source added.
Although Komphela ended an 11-game losing streak under Mabhudi Khenyeza in all competitions after winning his first game back, the 56-year-old also went on a winless run of nine matches in the DStv Premiership, before tasting victory in the last match of the campaign against AmaZulu FC.
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He also drew interest from Tanzanian giants Simba and was reportedly interviewed, although that pursuit has seemingly slowed down after the veteran coach returned back to Durban and resumed duties at Abafana Bes'thende.