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Cape Town – Roger de Sa admits that Ajax Cape Town’s success is all about him instilling belief in his youthful crop.
The urban warriors faired brilliantly in De Sa’s first season full season in charge with the youngest team in the Premiership.
Ajax finish fifth in the PSL and ended off the season with a cup final at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in the eastern Cape.
However, the Nedbank Cup finale did not go as they would have wanted to after losing to Mamelodi Sundowns in a penalty shoot-out.
The Ikamva side did this all with a youthful squad as De Sa pulled the strings.
The likes of Mobara Abbubaker, Rivaldo Coetzee, Tashreeq Morris, Travis Graham, Mosa Lebusa, Bantu Mzwakali and Riyaad Norodien (all under the age of 23) cemented their place in the first team and became regulars in the Mother City’s side starting XI.
“There’s no magic stick, magic potion or magic ideas or anything of that sort,” said De Sa as quoted by goal.com.
Granwald Scott, Nazeer Allie, Nathan Paulse along with Anssi Jaakkola were the only regular starters aged over 26-years-old.
“I mean when we started playing Mobara [Abbubaker] and Rivaldo [Rivaldo] at center-back, there were a lot of eyebrows being raised; how do you play a 17-year-old and a 19-year-old in the center of your defense, and things like that?
“There’s one thing I’ve learnt about coaching youth, you [have] got to be patient, you [have] got to believe and the other thing is you [have] got to coach.”
