Durban - Cape Town Spurs head Coach Shaun Bartlett could not contain his happiness after helping Cape Town Spurs gain promotion to the DStv Premiership on Wednesday.
The Urban Warriors achieved their objective of avoiding defeat against Maritzburg United in their final promotion/relegation match and sealed their step up to the top flight.
Previously known as Ajax Cape Town, the Western Cape-based outfit makes a remarkable return to the pinnacle of South African football having been relegated back in 2018.
Bartlett went through numerous emotions during his post-match conversation with the media, amongst them relief and pride for what his group of players had achieved.
The 50-year-old mentor also expressed his joy at being able to guide his players through this journey on and off the field.
Bartlett also jokingly spoke about his and his side’s delight at having the opportunity to play in more ‘accommodating’ venues in the top flight.
“It’s massive (achievement for the players), my players know, I coach the man first before the player otherwise I won’t get anything out of them as footballers so mentally and physically we apply ourselves everywhere possible,” he told IOL Sport.
He further added: “We were taking care of these boys as much as we can, we were operating at DStv premiership level, that’s without a doubt and now the players have got the reward and so does the club.”
“Also, I’ve got no more trips to Venda,” said a laughing Bartlett.
“We can play in good stadiums now and that’s the reward for these players. So it’s the small things like that for us.”
The Urban Warriors finished their playoffs with a remarkable stat of not conceding a single goal in their four outings, setting them up well for promotion.
Bartlett and his men missed out on automatic promotion on the final day of the regular season on goal difference and the experienced coach revealed how that blow contributed to their staunch defending in the playoffs.
“The disappointment on the last day of the season, everyone thought we would crumble because to lose the league on goal difference is not easy but we bounced back,” he said.
“You could see the way we applied ourselves, that’s four clean sheets in four games. I told my players if we win games and don’t concede, don’t speak to me about goal difference and so four clean sheets back up everything I said to them.”
@ScribeSmiso