Football
Nick Said, Special to ESPN 5y

Three coaches exit South African clubs in 24 hours



It has been a rough 24 hours for coaches of professional clubs in South Africa with three losing their jobs ahead of the international window.


Free State Stars, Black Leopards and Ajax Cape Town all announced the departure of their coaches as they seek to arrest a run of poor result ahead of a busy December period.


Stars terminated their employment of Belgian coach Luc Eymael "by mutual consent" on Monday, just six months after he took them to an unlikely triumph in the Nedbank Cup and fifth position in the league.


Stars have won just two of their last 14 games in all competitions and their latest loss on Saturday at home to SuperSport United appeared to seal Eymael's fate.

"Free State Stars Football Club and coach Luc Eymael have decided to mutually terminate their employment contract due to the fact that results of the current season have not been desirable," the club said in a statement on Monday.

"We will use the two weeks break to look for a suitable replacement for the coach and will make the necessary announcement as and when things unfold."


Joel Masutha resigned as coach of Leopards despite some promising performances from the team, as they have just a single win in their last 11 games. 


The 3-1 loss to Cape Town City on Sunday was the last straw for Masutha, whose resignation was accepted by Leopards.

Masutha had helped the club to promotion last season and the team promised to back him, but he decided to move on.

Ajax's Ertugral handed in his resignation on Sunday, a day after his team slipped to a 2-1 loss to Witbank Spurs in the National First Division.

That result leaves Ajax in mid-table and their promised promotion push stumbling as they seek a swift return to the top-flight following relegation at the end of the last campaign.

"We wish Muhsin well in all his future endeavours and thank him for his efforts over the past 11 months. His commitment to the club is unquestionable, especially when he offered to stay on at the club and help the team in their quest be promoted back to the Absa Premiership," said CEO Ari Efstathiou. 

The club have said they will make an announcement on a new coach "in due course". Ajax have won just four of their 11 matches so far this season.

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