Peral delighted with support in relegation fight

Cape Town City coach Diogo Peral is delighted to have veteran coach Roger de Sa by his side as the team battle against the possibility of relegation from the Betway Premiership.

Peral has taken over as caretaker coach after the departure of Muhsin Ertugral and had De Sa alongside him on the bench for his first game in charge as they drew 0-0 with SuperSport United in Polokwane n Sunday.

“Roger's got a lot of experience. He was in Cape Town. He was available. I've got a very good relationship with him and so does the club. So to tap into that experience … well that was a no-brainer.

“When he agreed to come and help us out, it was a no-brainer. He's been great,” said Peral after the point picked up in Polokwane.

De Sa last worked in the Betway Premiership with Platinum Stars in 2019 but after that went to the World Cup as assistant to Carlos Queiroz with Iran, plus was on the bench as Egypt reached the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final against Senegal.

Peral said the responsibility of lifting City away from the relegation zone rested with all at the club.

“It’s not just for me. None of us want be in the NFD next season, so it’s a big responsibility for the players to step up, which I thought they did today, and a big responsibility for the entire technical team. This is not a one man show, big responsibility to everyone at the club. Two coaches have gone (this season), we're the ones that were here through the whole thing, so now we need to fix it.”

Cape Town City had high expectations for the season and are desperately disappointed with with their campaign so far.

“When we came back from pre-season we thought we had a squad that we were going to compete with, so it is frustrating.”

Sunday’s draw at the Peter Mokaba Stadium meant City dropped one place to 14th place in the standings.