New Gallants coach Phuti Mohafe breaks silence on leaving Polokwane City

Mohafe ended a successful three-year spell with Rise and Shine, where he initially served as assistant coach before being promoted to head coach.

During his time at the Limpopo outfit, he helped the club secure three consecutive top-eight finishes while also playing a key role in the development of several players who went on to earn national recognition.

Among those are Bafana Bafana stars Oswin Appollis, who has since completed a move to Orlando Pirates, and Thabang Matuludi, while several other players also forced their way into the national team picture.

Speaking to iDiski Times, Mohafe explained that talks between Gallants chairman Abram Sello and his representative paved the way for his move.

"First and foremost, I can say the chairman of Marumo, together with my representative, they met and they discussed about me joining Marumo," Mohafe said.

"They found it very, very interesting to say, let's bring him to Marumo. And for me to be at Polokwane City for three consecutive seasons, qualifying for the top eight, I needed a new challenge, and hopefully, I think that Marumo will be that challenge."

The experienced coach also admitted he will have to adapt his preferred style of play to suit the squad he has inherited at Gallants.

"But with the team that plays a different style of football from what I'm used to, I have to maybe tweak it here and there, so that we can balance both the possession and the way I play.

"It became a new beginning for me and the club, and the conversations that the chairman and my representative had is the one that swayed me to Marumo."

Mohafe will now be tasked with guiding Gallants to a stronger campaign as they look to establish themselves among the Betway Premiership's top-performing sides.