How Richards Bay bounced back from Brandon Truter sacking

The Natal Rich Boys made an early change in the dugout when Brandon Truter was sent packing six matches into the campaign, leaving the club third from bottom as Gabriel was elevated from assistant to caretaker. 

Following their 1-0 win over TS Galaxy at the weekend, the KZN outfit are now all but safe from the relegation play-offs with two games to spare. 

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Gabriel told SABC Sport what it took to bounce back. 

"We had a lot of psychological sessions with the players, sessions that made the players believe and understand the dynamics of our league, and the reality of our situation.

"As the season has progressed, taking the level of our opponents into account, I believe that we bridged the gap. We've played some good football this season, and we've beaten some big teams like Kaizer Chiefs," expressed Richards Bay's coach.

The coach added that the squad grew in confidence by putting up a fight in the fixtures where they were written off. 

"We used those big games to motivate the players, and we told them, if they can compete against the big fish, they should be able to compete and steal points from anyone in the premiership," said Gabriel. 

On the flip side of the coin and on the back of their defeat to Richards Bay at the weekend, TS Galaxy coach Adnan Beganovic revealed he was likely to use their final match of the season against Orlando Pirates to give fringe players a chance.

This is with an eye on next season. 

"We are already starting to talk and to prepare for the next season. We will try to add players to our team and to improve our existing players by offering more game time for them.

"Whoever ends up playing for us, I expect more because we can't play like we played today. We should fight for ourselves and the badge. We need to show more because if we want to remain in the top eight and in the top five, we have to show more of our quality and tenacity," demanded Beganovic. 

Beganovic said they owe it to their supporters to end the campaign with maximum points when they take on the Soweto giants on the 17th of May.