Resilient Birds players come in for praise

Moroka Swallows might not yet be out of relegation danger but coach Musa Nyatama praised his players’ fortitude amid the financial difficulties that beset the club at the end of last year.

Swallows sit in 13th position in the 16-team DStv Premiership on 29 points, enough to ensure they will not finish last and be automatically relegated.

But they could yet still end second last which would force them into participating in the end-of-season promotion-relegation playoffs.

“At this moment there is still that spot for the playoffs that we need to avoid but we will keep on grinding and looking for positive results.

“If we get one more win, then we can safely say we can prepare for next season. But we're still looking for those points,” said Nyatama whose side are at home to Stellenbosch on Saturday after losing 2-0 away at Cape Town City on Tuesday.

Swallows had points docked when they failed to pitch for two matches in December because the players were on strike after not being payed.

Many players left in January because of the crisis but Nyatama has praised those who stayed.

“Look at the what the players have done after all the difficulties that we faced, starting from January where we were docked six points. We could not play two games. So yeah, we never thought we could be where we are. But we fight and we fight. We've got fighters, a good technical team as well as good players,” the Swallows coach said.