KickOff can exclusively reveal the many underlying factors leading to head coach Shaun Bartlett's demise following his newly-promoted Cape Town Spurs' disastrous start to the 2023/24 DStv Premiership season.
Spurs made the inevitable decision to mutually part ways with Bartlett alongside assistant coaches Nasief Morris and Calvin Marlin on Monday.
Seven consecutive defeats in the DStv Premiership from their opening seven league matches saw a dismal return for the Urban Warriors to the top-flight of South African football.
Their record is the worst-ever start by a top-flight side in the history in South African football, beating the likes of African Wanderers, Jomo Cosmos and Mother City who hold the record with a tally of just 10 points.
Bartlett's Spurs side returned to the DStv Premiership after a five-year absence riding a wave of euphoria after securing an unlikely promotion through the playoffs.
Spurs upset a trend that has developed over the three seasons prior, with DStv Premiership teams using their quality to avoid the drop.
Four of the last five top flight teams have avoided the drop in the relegation/promotion playoffs.
Spurs' dream return to the top flight soon turned into a recurring nightmare with seven straight demorilising defeats with many issues coming to light perhaps explaining that dismal record.
Before promotion, a source revealed that the Bartlett's concerns and demands were not addressed by the club hierarchy which left the team unprepared for the 2023/24 season.
Bartlett and his technical team were given reassurances that their list of demands and wishes for the upcoming season would be granted once the team reached the promise land of the DStv Premiership.
Those demands were never addressed.
A significant detail revealed to impact a somewhat disgruntled playing squad was not receiving their promised bonuses for clinching promotion to the DStv Premiership.
This detail was highlighted as a pertinent issue in the dressing room that affected team morale.
Promotion to the top division has proven to be a financially rewarding prospect for clubs with Polokwane City pocketing R5 million in prize money for winning automatic promotion.
An insider revealed that the coaching staff had raised concerns over the squad's quality, inactivity in the transfer market and sought investment into the squad.
All these issues are believed to have played a role in the club's form of late.
Prior to being sacked, the former Kaizer Chiefs coach was very open and honest in his assessment of his club's situation during what proved his final press conference following Cape Town Spurs' 3-1 derby defeat to Cape Town City.
"At the end of the day, that's what I chose to do to be the coach of this club. When I came in the objective was to first save us from relegation, then get promotion, that's fine.
"But now it's not going as planned."
Spurs' Chief Executive Officer Alexi Efstathiou has refuted all the allegations.
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