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Cape Town - Assistant coach Mabhuti Khenyeza has confirmed he is leaving Maritzburg United and has been welcomed back to his former home AmaZulu.
Khenyeza's contract with Usuthu was set to expire in June, but the club released him in order to allow him to pursue his career in coaching.
Khenyeza joined the Team of Choice in the current transfer window and was named assistant coach to fellow new arrival Muhsin Ertugral.
The former Kaizer Chiefs boss was unable to turn things around at Maritzburg, however, and the Premiership strugglers confirmed on Monday he was moving on.
On Wednesday afternoon, Khenyeza also confirmed his departure.
“I spoke to the Chairman (Farook Kadodia), General Manager (Quinton Jett) and to the new Coach Eric in the right way," he said in a statement.
“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.
“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."
Amazulu team manager Qedi Dlamini said Khenyeza was welcome to return to the club any time.
“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.”
Dlamini said they had their own plans to blood Khenyeza as a coach before he decided to take the Maritzburg job.
“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.
“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.”
Stepping in to replace Khenyeza as an assistant to new coach Eric Tinkler at Maritzburg United is Vincent Kobola.
“Yes, Vincent will be joining. It is the only change that I will be making in the technical team,” Tinkler told IOL Sport on Wednesday afternoon.
“I’m looking to sign few players before the transfer window closes (tomorrow).”
