Stellenbosch struggling but still a good team insists coach

Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker admitted his side were struggling but insisted they were still a good footballing side after losing at home to Richards Bay on Saturday.

The 1-0 defeat in the Betway Premiership was a fourth loss in a row for the club who finished third last season and sees them one of four clubs on four points at the bottom of the Betway Premiership standings.

“Firstly, I don't think it was a really good football match. I think the pitch was not conducive to moving the ball and playing the way we would sort of want to. So that was a bit of a disappointment,” said Barker, whose team were beaten at AmaZulu in midweek and last weekend suffered a 3-0 extra time loss to Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 final at the Mbombela Stadium.

“But right now we're not playing our best football. We know it, we understand it. It's something that we have to accept. Because if you believe that everything is fine and you're playing well and all that, you then have a false sense of security.

“I’ve had a good chat with the players and obviously we need to turn things around, we need to change things,” the Stellenbosch coach added.

Barker said there were factors to look at in order to try and force a turn around.

“Sometimes it's not just all about more training and just on the field stuff. It's just a mentality change. It's sort of just snapping out of that mood that you are when you're not winning football games,” he suggested.

“It's about unity and togetherness and were still a good football team. People tend to forget what we've achieved in the last while and that we have also just come off the (MTN8) final.

“We're still playing in the (African) Confederation Cup, but for our league form is concerning. Obviously not only for me, but the players and everybody around at the club. “It's important that we just galvanise ourselves and get a fresh energy about us. We have played a lot of games in a very short space of time. And when you lose a final, maybe there's still a bit of after effects because I just felt (against Richards Bay) we lacked spark and a bit of energy,” said Barker.