DURBAN – Maritzburg United have parted ways with Mabhuti Khenyeza, and he will be returning to AmaZulu FC.
Khenyeza joined the Team of Choice in the current transfer window from Usuthu.
His contract with AmaZulu was set to expire in June, but the club released him after he expressed his desire to go into coaching.
Khenyeza joined the Team of Choice as an assistant coach to Muhsin Ertugral.
But Ertugral and Maritzburg parted ways on Monday, and that left the future of Khenyeza in jeopardy.
Maritzburg confirmed the departure of Khenyeza on Wednesday afternoon.
“I spoke to the Chairman (Farook Kadodia), General Manager (Quinton Jett) and to the new Coach Eric in the right way.
“There were not any issues, but I felt from my side, that with new blood coming in and trying to implement new ideas to the boys, for the benefit of the team, it was best for me to move on,” Khenyeza said in a statement.
Maritzburg are languishing at the foot of the table with 11 points after 18 league games. They haven’t won a game since September last year.
“The most important thing is that the team is given the best chance to get out of the situation where they stand at the moment.
“It’s not about me, but about the team. It was better to let the new technical team take over. The club wanted to keep me, but I think in football, sometimes the team is more important than individuals,” Khenyeza added.
Team manager at Usuthu, Qedi Dlamini, has made it clear that they would welcome Khenyeza with an open arms should he decide to come back.
“We love him. We know his quality. We will accept him with open arms if he decides to come back. He is a very important individual. If he wants to come back, there’s no problem,” Dlamini said.
“At the moment, we haven’t discussed after his departure at Maritzburg because we were playing in Pretoria (on Tuesday). We are still here and the management is also here. We haven’t spoken to him. Maybe we will speak to him later today or tomorrow.”
KHENYEZA AND MARITZBURG UNITED PART WAYS
Mabhuti Khenyeza has decided that it was in the best interest of both the club and himself to vacate his post as assistant coach. pic.twitter.com/KNaVqbu4Us
— Maritzburg United FC (@MaritzburgUtd) January 30, 2019
Khenyeza lasted a month in Pietermaritzburg.
“We had our intentions about Khenyeza for next season, but unfortunately, the opportunity to go to coaching came early. He indicated his intentions and we gave him our blessings,” he added.
Asked if they were intending to rope in Khenyeza into the senior side or at junior level, Dlamini replied: “We wanted to develop him as a coach, like we are doing with Ayanda Dlamini, Belux Kasonga and Nhlanhla Zwane.
“He was going to fall into that category. We were willing to help him get his qualifications.”
Vincent Kobola will replace Khenyeza as an assistant coach to Tinkler at Maritzburg United.
“Yes, Vincent will be joining. It is the only change that I will be making in the technical team,” Tinkler said in an interview with IOL Sport on Wednesday afternoon.
“I’m looking to sign few players before the transfer window closes (tomorrow).”
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