It took Clinton Larsen a little over a year to take Magesi FC to the topflight of South African football, working his magic with a team that many may not have fancied to win automatic promotion from the Motsepe Foundation Championship to the DStv Premiership. The Limpopo-based side secured promotion with two matches to spare, avoiding the drama of the final weekend which often comes with a lot of twists and turns. Larsen will now have a big job on his hands to ensure Magesi are competitive in the elite league and this is where he is going to need to use his experience to maintain the team’s Premiership status. In this interview with Soccer Laduma’s Tshepang Mailwane, the former Chippa United and Golden Arrows coach talks about how promotion was achieved and reveals his plans for next season.
Tshepang Mailwane: Congratulations on winning promotion, coach. Talk to us about the feeling of guiding Magesi FC to automatic promotion…
Clinton Larsen: Firstly, it was a bit of a relief not to have to go into the last game of the season needing anything. To clinch it with two games left was a great achievement and I am very happy with the way it turned out this season. So much work went into putting this team together in the off-season, strengthening the playing staff and the technical team and putting the right structures in place. A lot went into it and finally we reaped the rewards of all our hard work and all our planning. But I must give special mention to our CEO and our chairman because I am working with two very intelligent individuals and humble administrators. They gave me carte blanche to put this team together and sign the players I felt could make a difference. It’s very rare to have that authority, more so in the NFD (Motsepe Foundation Championship, formerly known as National First Division). I must be the envy of a lot of coaches because interference is rife within our football. Plaudits must go to our management for the trust they showed in me, as well as the patience they had in terms of putting this project together. I’ve been with the club for 15 months after coming in midway through last season, so to do it in record time is an unbelievable achievement for this little team from Moletjie in Polokwane.
