Pressure mounts on Steve Barker and Stellenbosch FC with deadline day exits mooted

When it rains it usually pours, and under-pressure Stellenbosch FC’s problems may get even worse before the Betway Premiership transfer window closes on Monday.

Stellies are on a three-game losing streak, including the MTN8 final, after suffering a demoralising 1-0 defeat to Richards Bay at home on Saturday evening.

This has left Steve Barker’s side languishing in 13th place with just one win from seven games – only one less than they experienced in their entire campaign last year. But there are even more ominous signs on the horizon for The Maroons, with Barker hinting after the Richards Bay defeat that he could still lose yet another key player.

“No comment,” Barker said, when asked whether Stellenbosch were looking to bolster their squad and instead replied with “Probably the other way. Very sensitive.”

The heavy cloud hanging over Stellies is the future of key central defender Thabo Moloisane, who is a free agent in July next year.

It has been well documented that both Soweto giants Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs are keen on snapping up the 26-year-old with the Buccaneers leading the race for his signature.

Barker commented before the Richards Bay match that Moloisane’s situation has been unsettling and that he has no control over the situation.

“It has just been difficult to find the calmness of the season,” he said.

“Thabo is a key player for us, and he has been. It is something that we are still working on

“Hopefully, in the next window we can find a way to sort it out but it’s not in my hands currently. Obviously, I would love for him to stay and be with the team going forward.”

It appears that it may not reach the next transfer window now as Stellenbosch FC chief executive Rob Benadie has shown that he is willing to release the club’s leading players to local rivals. Last season’s Player of the Year Fawaaz Basadien was sold to champions Mamelodi Sundowns along with central midfielder Sipho Nduli to Orlando Pirates during the offseason.

Barker admitted after the defeat to Pirates in the MTN8 final that it was “bittersweet” to see Nduli controlling the Bucs midfield.

The wily mentor did not want to dwell on the possible player exits though and admitted that his team have simply not been good enough in recent times and had called for a mentality change if they are to climb the ladder.

“Right now we're not playing our best football. We know it. We understand it. It's something that we have to accept.

“Because if you believe that everything is fine and you're playing well and all that, you then have a false sense of sort of security. We obviously need to turn things around. We need to change things. So, you know, there's a number of factors that you look at. 

“Sometimes it's not just all about more training and just on the field stuff. It's just the mentality change. It's sort of just snapping out of that mood that you are when you're not winning football games.

"It's about unity and togetherness. We're still a good football team,” Barker concluded.