South African coach Steve Barker is back to work on Thursday after the international break as he seeks to steer his Simba side closer to the Tanzania league leaders Young Africans and set up a potentially thrilling finish to the season.
Simba trail their arch rivals by seven points but have two games in hand and catch up one of them on Thursday when they host Coastal Union in Dar-es-Salaam.
Barker is on an 11-game unbeaten run with Simba, having arrived at the club in January after almost a decade of working at Stellenbosch.
He spoke to supersport.com about the new job.
After such a long spell at Stellenbosch, did you feel your time was up there?
“Yeah, I felt it was up. But now that I've left, I think in hindsight, it was probably sort of getting re-energised, needing a new challenge, a different environment. And yeah, it became more and more difficult every season, losing your best players.
"You want to actually challenge to win things, but just looking the way it was happening, it was never really going to be possible. Now that I've left, I felt it was good for both me and for the club. I think we were mutually beneficial for each other for a long period.”
And what do you bring to Simba that they didn't have?
“I think calmness, focus on the bigger picture. I think they're very reactive every time something goes wrong, it's like, 'We've got to change this. We've got to change that.' And I bring, like, ‘listen, we're on the right track, let's lay foundations for sustainable success’.
"So they're chasing immediate success, which you understand because theyhaven't won in a while, but it's just about bringing that mentality that it is going to happen, we've got to just believe in what we're doing, what the club's doing, what we're doing as coaches.
"And I think I brought that togetherness, just bringing all the parts together and working in one direction. I’m trying to align the thinking on more professionalism. More focus, less shenanigans, let's focus on the job at hand, and we will get the success we deserve.
Is there any fear about longevity in the job because the track record in East Africa and North Africa for a coach, especially from outside, is not very long?
“I think it's always in the back of your mind and you know it's a risk. You’ve got to understand that the risk is always there, even now when you're doing well enough, but you've got to keep it going, otherwise it becomes difficult.
"I've also trusted myself in terms of a coach that sees a project and has the ability to allow the project to actually happen. So I had to have that belief in myself that I can go there, and it's not just for a month or two. I think there's a lot of potential at the club to really kick on, but they also have to have the belief and the trust in individuals to get them to where they wantto be.”
Was it a quick adaptation?
“It wasn't immediate because I think just the challenge of the conditions of the fields. I had to sort of quickly figure out ways to win games when it's maybe a bit of an equaliser.
"I quickly got to know the team manager and the assistant coach and asked them a lot of questions and a lot of things about the league, etc. And I think once the first three weeks, four weeks were gone, the adaptation was done and the football took over. I think we got into a good rhythm, and that rhythm is sort of carrying us on.”
What is the standard like?
“It's higher than I expected. Having spoken to other coaches who have worked in Tanzania, they said there were a lot of poor teams in the league, but I don't know, for whatever reason, I've experienced that every game has been tough. You have to play well to win. I think the smaller teams are getting better with more foreigners also.”
And how are you dealing with the pressure and expectation?
“That goes without saying. When I was interviewed for the job, one of the questions was, ‘It's one of the most pressurised jobs on the continent. How are you going to deal with it?’ So like I just said to myself, that all I can control is my effort and give 100 per cent.
"You don't have control over everything. If I know I'm giving my 100 per cent, then the rest will take care of itself. I think they understand that, that the team needed improvement, needed better players. And we probably still aren’t exactly where you want to be.
"And I think as long as we are competing and showing that we’re improving the team in terms of the way we play, that gives everybody confidence. I think it's also just trying to get more stability in terms of turnaround of players.
"If you look at Simba over the last couple of years, there’s been a big turnaround of players. I watched the game they played two years back, and there was maybe one player left from there. So it's also just trying to sort of, if we need one sustainable success, it's about building a core group of players that carry you for two or three years, which I don't think they've always had.
"So it's just trying to get more continuity and sort of less players coming in, but the right players coming in.”
What does it say about South African football that more and more coaches are heading elsewhere on the continent?
“Yeah, I think the South African league has gained respect on the continent, I think over the years, especially with Sundowns’ recent results, and the way the game is televised on the continent, I think our pictures, our production, and the quality are good. So I think people respect that.”