Baroka FC head coach Morgan Mammila has outlined his plans for the upcoming 2024/25 season, which the club will spend in the Motsepe Foundation Championship after failing to gain promotion.
In an exclusive interview with KickOff, the former Chippa United coach confirmed he will be staying with the former DStv Premiership club as he plans to take them back to the top tier of South African football.
Mammila served as CEO when the Ga-Mphahlele-based side won the Telkom Knockout in 2018, defeating Orlando Pirates in the final.
"I'm back home at Baroka," declares Mammila.
"We're going to work hard. We've done it before and we're going to do it again. We know what we want, we know what we have done, and we know who we are. So, that's us.
"Next season, we will come back stronger and better. This season, we couldn't go through because of missed chances, we only had one striker, and that was our problem.
"But it's something we can rectify, it will not take us even a month to fix that. Next season. we target automatic promotion because in these promotional play-offs, you find PSL [topflight] teams, who will always have an upper hand. It has been proven.
"We're not releasing any player. We're not desperate, we know what we doing," he continued.
Contrary to Mammila's claim, however, the Limpopo club recently confirmed that they will not be renewing the contracts of six players, among them Tshidiso Patjie, Lehlohonolo Nonyane and Boalefa Pule.
The head coach also heaped praise on Bakgaga chairman Khurishi Mphahlele, whom he says has contributed a lot to Mzansi football in terms of player development.
"Khurishi Mphahlele is 10 steps more than many chairmen. He is the only chairman who has built a club Village in a rural area.
"You look at Bafana Bafana right now, Veli Mothwa is there, Evidence Makgopa is there. Where did they come from? Baroka FC! And there are so many.
"So, it means this man Khurishi Mphahlele has got value in South African football. You look at the current Baroka team, it's competing with youngsters. There are teams in South Africa who have no single U23 player when they play the play-offs.
"Baroka were playing with eight, nine players in the play-offs. Khurishi Mphahlele understands this football business very well. Together, me and him, we once promoted this team.
"Baroka they've got value in South African football."