John Maduka had to overcome serious teething problems at Royal AM, writes MOGAMAD ALLIE.

John Maduka could hardly have imagined a tougher start to his tenure as head coach of Royal AM in the Premiership.

First, the club had been in and out of court during the off-season challenging the decision to award the NFD title to Sekhukhune United. Then they finalised the purchase of the Bloemfontein Celtic franchise only on 17 August, just five days before their opening game against Swallows FC.

Added to that, the former Celtic players had to quickly grab their belongings and relocate to Durban as well as integrate with their new teammates who were retained from Royal AM’s NFD squad. Given those serious challenges, it came as no surprise that Maduka’s team lost their opening two games – away to Swallows and at home to Cape Town City three days later.

‘It was very difficult to fuse the players of Royal AM and Bloemfontein Celtic into one team. Of course, the guys who came with me from Celtic knew how I operate but I had to mix them with the ones that we found at the club. That’s why it was tough in our first two games which we lost,’ the former Zimbabwe international told Robert Marawa’s Sports Worldwide podcast.

‘But we could see there was potential for improvement and the players were getting better. The players that remained at Royal AM were willing to work hard and that helped a great deal.’

Not surprisingly, Maduka found himself under early pressure after those two defeats but a hard-fought 1-0 win over Chippa United proved to be the turning point in what has developed into a very good season for the club. That victory sparked an eight-game unbeaten run that was ended by a 1-0 defeat away to Sekhukhune United in November.

By mid-February, with only nine games remaining, Royal AM defied all expectations of a tough debut season in the Premiership when they ascended to a lofty second position on the table, albeit a massive 15 points behind leaders Sundowns. Maduka also had the enviable distinction of beating Kaizer Chiefs twice in the league – first a shock 4-1 thumping in Johannesburg and then a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture.

‘Doing the double over Chiefs is something I’m proud of because they are a big team that has won lots of trophies over the years. It’s a tribute to the boys that we were able to score so many goals against them,’ Maduka said.

While the club’s fans are looking to secure a top-four finish that would book them a place in one of next season’s Caf competitions, Maduka is more circumspect. ‘At the start of the season, our goal was to remain in the league. Now we’re aiming to finish in the top eight. We don’t want to put anyone under pressure. Once we have cemented our place in the top eight then we can try to play for something.’

Having already guided Celtic to a place in the finals of the MTN8 and the Nedbank Cup in 2020, where they lost to Pirates and Sundowns respectively, Maduka is aiming to go one step further.

‘I’ve done well in reaching those finals and even though I didn’t win it I’m getting better.

We want to win something to get some recognition for the hard work we’ve been doing.’