Castle Lager Premier Soccer League giants Highlanders executive committee on Monday summoned want-away head coach Erol Akbay to discuss his decision to announce his intended departure to the media without first informing his employers.
BY FORTUNE MBELE
The club’s acting chairman Modern Ngwenya said that the gaffer’s pre-mature announcement could have adverse consequences on the team’s performance.
Akbay told journalists on Thursday that he will not be renewing his contact when it expires at the end of the season due to the financial problems that the club is facing.
Ngwenya yesterday said that the position should have been communicated to the executive committee so the matter would be handled professionally.
“It’s rather unfortunate that Akbay communicated his decision to the media before telling the executive” Ngwenya said. “We, however, cannot worry about issues we cannot control because come end of the year his contract will be over.”
Ngwenya could not resist a dig at the coach although he also tried to lavish him with praise in the same vein.
“He (Akbay) has put himself under unnecessary pressure to win games because any other result may mean lack of effort on his part. It was improper, unprofessional and unethical for our shrewd and sharp coach to make such a demotivating announcement with potentially-unspecified repercussions and consequences at this time of the season,” Ngwenya said.
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Ngwenya reiterated chief executive officer Nhlanha Dube’s statement that Akbay received his full salary on time from sponsors BancABC.
“Akbay is well remunerated and his salary comes timeously every month from our all-weather sponsors BancABC. We feel indebted to BancABC and are grateful to them for paying our head coach and players’ salaries on time. We appreciate and love the work he has done at our club so he shouldn’t tarnish his image and reputation by issuing careless statements. We will meet him on Monday to hear the reasons behind the regrettable announcement and try to limit the damage it has caused,” Ngwenya said.
Akbay indicated that he made his decision to quit the club on Wednesday and was open to any club who wanted his services.
The Highlanders gaffer said he would be in the country in December if he is accepted for the Caf pro licence course to be held in Harare an indication that he still harbours intentions of remaining in the country or somewhere in Africa.
