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Ajax Cape Town have finally overcome the stress of going a division down, with players no longer shy to talk about their aspirations for promotion.
This is the view of Thendo Mukumela, the defender-cum-midfielder who has played a key role in Ajax’s revival.
Just three matches before the festive recess, the Urban Warriors were languishing six spots from the bottom of the NFD.
There was little hope that they would even recover, following the shock departure of former coach Muhsin Ertugral in November.
The Turk stepped down on the back of four wins in 11 matches.
“We have regained our confidence. In addition, we have come to terms with the environment in which we currently find ourselves, because it was very difficult for us to accept our relegation in the beginning,” Mukumela told City Press.
The arrival of Dutch coach Andries Ulderink, who took over from Ertugral at the end of November, seems to have also done the trick.
“We cannot take away the fact that Muhsin is a good coach,” added Mukumela.
“Andries came and found a team that was still in shock after Muhsin had resigned. We set our goal as a team that promotion – and nothing less – is all we wanted.”
Ulderink (49), a former Ajax Amsterdam assistant coach, endured the proverbial baptism of fire in his first game in charge when the Capetonians suffered a 5-2 defeat to TS Galaxy in the Nedbank Cup qualification game last month.
Since this December 2 annihilation at Kameelrivier Stadium, in Mpumalanga, Ajax has gone on to record five straight league wins.
The turnaround has shot them up to the second spot, four points adrift of NFD leaders Stellenbosch, whom they face in a Cape derby today.
Richards Bay were also a catalyst in Ajax’s change of fortune, courtesy of the Natal Rich Boyz’s 2-0 win over Stellenbosch last weekend.
Mukumela is aware that only a win over Steve Barker’s high fliers will narrow the gap to a point.
After all, his five goals have also helped Ajax to rise from the ashes.
“It is a good feeling to be in this position. In this league [NFD], nobody wants to finish second or third [play-off positions]. This should be the worst-case scenario if we can’t gain automatic promotion.”
Apart from the 20-year-old utililty player from Limpopo, Ulderink has at his disposal a group of young but experienced bunch of Ajax players who were demoted.
The team has the likes of Tashreeq Morris, Isaac Nhlapo, Grant Margeman and Sedwyn George, who all tasted Premiership experience before Ajax’s relegation.
