Mushin Ertugral, known for his vast knowledge of football, is grappling with a perplexing predicament: Cape Town City's downward spiral.
City suffered a 1-0 defeat to relegation candidates Marumo Gallants at Athlone on Saturday, marking their 10th Betway Premiership game without a win. Their last victory came against Richards Bay in mid-January.
Ertugral, a Uefa Pro Licensed coach, cut a frustrated figure at Saturday’s post-match press conference. After many years in coaching, he was at a loss to explain City's dreadful loss of form. It was City’s 12th Premiership defeat in 23 games, leaving them hovering just above the relegation zone — six points adrift of a top-eight spot.
Even as a seasoned campaigner, Ertugral admitted that City's precarious situation has posed a serious mental challenge.
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“In the end, you don’t know what to say after a result like this,” said Ertugral.
“We all panicked in the last 15 minutes — even me, after all these years in the business. We abandoned the game plan we had prepared. That change was made out of hope, but as the game went on, we lost our way even more.
“When you show up but don’t score, and they get one counter and convert — it’s tough. After a match like this, what can you hold on to? You need to experiment to find solutions, but our experiments didn’t bring us anything.
“In the second half, we tried playing with two strikers, Darwin (Gonzalez) and (Aprocius) Petrus positioned higher up the field, but it didn’t work as well.
“I was trying to find a way to unlock them and made even more changes. In the final 15 minutes, we — the technical staff on the bench — were panicking. The boys were also panicking because they were under tremendous pressure.
“I also need to clear my mind, and then we need to help the boys. They are devastated at the moment.”
With a two-week break due to the Fifa window, Ertugral said he would use the time to help his players reset mentally.
“For that reason, the Fifa break has come at a good time,” said Ertugral. “We have a chance to clear our minds. It has not been easy when you look back. This is a good time to reassess our approach and what it has brought us.”
City will return to action at the end of March, with a Premiership clash against fellow strugglers SuperSport United at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.