Cape Town - Richards Bay chairman Sifiso 'Jomo' Biyela has sacked the club's senior coaching staff after a rank-poor relegation-threatened 13th-place finish in the DStv Premiership season.
In a statement, the Natal Rich Boyz, as Richards Bay is popularly known, announced the departure of head coach Vasili Manousakis and the two assistant coaches Pitso Dladla and Ronnie Gabriel.
After the team was promoted from the Motsepe Foundation Championship last season, Manousakis and Dladla, as co-coaches did well in the first half of the Premiership season. Their mandate was the secure the club's Premiership status in their debut season.
In the early stages of the Premiership, the Natal Rich Boyz were hugging the No 2 berth on the Premiership standings in 2022, much to everyone's surprise.
𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁‼️ pic.twitter.com/4vg3Wjk1xx
However, after the break for the 2022 World Cup, Richards Bay was never the same again and started slipping down the log.
In February the club had to deal with the untimely death of their inspirational captain Sphamandla 'Spepe' Mtolo, who had been a pillar of strength in the team which won promotion.
To arrest their fall from grace, Richards Bay promoted Manousakis from co-coach to head coach. The change did not bring about the desired change and the team hovered above the relegation zone at the end of the season.
Richards Bay's statement read: 'Richards Bay Football Club would like to announce the departure of head coach Mr Vasili Manousakis, Mr Pitso Dladla and Mr Ronnie Gabriel, the two assistant coaches.
'The club would also like to thank them for their contribution during last season. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours.
'The announcement of the new technical team will be announced in due course.'
At the time the Premiership ended in May, reports surfaced about chairman Biyela allegedly interfering with the team selections and did not allow the coaches to do their work unhindered.
Days before the coaches were sacked, it became known that former Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbaeur was a head coach target, but the German has since signed with the Moroccan club Raja Casablanca.
Richards Bay is set to finalise the departure of Kenyan midfielder Ovella Ochieng after a brief spell at the club. He joined Richards Bay last December from the Botswana outfit Township Rollers.