A week after the announcement that Ernst Middendorp would be leaving Cape Town Spurs, the club have now performed a U-turn and say the German will be staying on in order to get the team back into the DStv Premiership.
The Mother City-based club were relegated back to the Motsepe Foundation Championship after a difficult first season back, and Middendorp was brought in halfway through the season after the sacking of Shaun Bartlett.
While Middendorp’s task of saving the club from the drop was a tough one, the were some encouraging performances in between, including wins over Soweto giants Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.
Explaining his decision to return, the experienced mentor said he was excited by the plans put in front of him by the board to get the club back in South Africa’s top division.
”I bought into the vision of the club from day one. The picture that the board put in front of me, really excited me and we had started implementing the plans with the intention on building on this in the new season,” Middendorp said in a statement on the club’s website.
”Unfortunately, we were a couple of points short at the end and were relegated. The challenge of the project however remained in my mind even though the club and I decided to part ways.
“When I returned to Cape Town yesterday, I received a call from the directors to meet up for breakfast. We were able to carve a way through the obstacles that were originally there.
“I am happy to say that we can now continue from where we left off and deliver, together with the board, the club that we all envisage to see one day attaining its rightful place in SA football.”
IOL Sport