CARLO COCK
AmaTuks sealed promotion to the Premier Soccer League (PSL) on Wednesday 9 May with a 2-0 win over FC Cape Town at Absa Tuks Stadium. AmaTuks will now compete against all of the country’s top clubs including Supersport United, Mamelodi Sundowns, Ajax Cape Town, Kaizer Chiefs and Soweto giants, Orlando Pirates in the Absa Premiership next season. AmaTuks coach, Steve Barker, spoke to Perdeby exclusively following his team’s victory about the magnitude of the achievement and his ambitions in the PSL.
How does it feel to finally have secured promotion after several failed attempts?
It’s obviously a great feeling. It’s very satisfying for the club to finally be in the PSL. I have been here since 2007 and in that time we have come close a few times, so to finally have done it is a special feeling.
How proud are you of your players considering the successful season you have had?
Obviously I am very proud of the boys. They have done very well and all credit must go to them. We’ve been very consistent this season, only losing two games in 2012 and going 17 games unbeaten. So I’m very, very proud of them.
Do you think you can be competitive in the Absa Premiership next season?
Yes, I think that we will definitely be competitive. We are definitely not just going there to make up the numbers. We had a speaker here a few years ago from Australia, Wayne Goldsmith, who told us that yYou need to plan, you need to train, you need to prepare, you need to do everything better than the teams in the league above you, so that when you get there, you stay there.We already do things better than many teams in the PSL. We’ve got the best facilities, and we have great management and support structures, so I’m sure we will be very competitive in the PSL.
This season saw several changes in the National First Division (NFD) structure and rules. Do you think the change to a single national stream and the new rules regarding the minimum amount of u/23 South African players have benefited your promotion challenge?
Yes, I think the change to a national stream as opposed to two coastal streams was a positive step by the league. The change regarding the minimum required u/23 players didn’t really affect us too much, as we already had a number of players that fell under that category, so we didn’t need to make as many changes to our squad as other clubs did.
Are you worried about losing your top players to bigger clubs during the transfer period?
No, I’m not worried about that. I think the players need to make up their minds. Obviously there are a few players at the end of their contracts, but they need to decide if they want to stay or not. However, I am confident that all our players would want to stay here, because we’re in the PSL now, so I’m sure they think that this is the club to be at.
TuksFootball is one of the biggest football clubs in the country with over 1000 registered players. Will you be looking to showcase this on the national stage?
Yes, we are obviously very proud of the development structures we have at the club, from the junior programme to the academy to Res league and then the senior teams, so we’ll definitely be looking to continue our development and hopefully improve as a result of being in the PSL.
