Richards Bay interim coach Ronnie Gabriel has suggested that the club are following in the footsteps of one of the most in-form clubs on the South African football landscape at the moment in Stellenbosch.
While both clubs are ‘new’ to the traditional top flight of domestic football and gained promotion by clinching the second division, Stellies have gone on to not only compete at a higher level but have a trophy to show for it as well.
The Western Cape-based outfit have finished tenth, 14th, fourth, sixth, and third in the five seasons they’ve been in the top flight, an indication of the strides of progress they’ve made over the years. Under the tutelage of head coach Steve Barker, the club has also been responsible for introducing some of the finest talents in the country to top-flight football.
In northern KwaZulu-Natal, The Natal Rich Boyz are looking to emulate this fresh-faced guide to life amongst the elites. In their third season in the Betway Premiership, the club has finished in the bottom three and is still trying to establish itself as a mid-table team at least.
Those attempts have seen a turbulent two seasons and a quarter where Sfiso Dladla, Vasilili Manousakis, Kaitano Tembo, Vusumuzi Vilakazi and most recently Brandon Truter have all tried their turn at the head coaching post and have been dismissed.
The man at the helm at the moment, Gabriel – alongside Siboniso Gumede – feels the club is undergoing a process that’s the first stage of possible success, similar to that of Stellenbosch.
Speaking after his team had been outclassed by AmaZulu over the weekend, he insisted that their generation and integration of youngsters as well as adjusting to the top-flight will take time but with the right support will bear fruit.
“Richards Bay is a team of opportunities, the average age of this squad is probably under 24, it’s a young squad and year in and year out, I don’t think there’s a club in the PSL that has promoted as many DDC players and given them PSL caps as us,” he said.
“It is an adaptation process and during this process, there will be a lot of hiccups along the way and we are facing those types of results now but we have to continue with the process.”
He further added: “You look at Stellenbosch, they struggled in their first two seasons but they believed in their model so it's the same story here, we have a blueprint and model that we are following.”
“We know that we’re going to face these moments during the season and these types of hiccups but we still have the belief we will pass this stage and take the team to safety and be a middle table team this season.”
Richards Bay are currently at the bottom of the log standings having played nine matches already with one win, two draws and six losses recorded. The Natal Rich Boyz will return to action on Friday when they welcome SuperSport United to the King Zwelithini Stadium.