CAPE TOWN – Cape Town Spurs coach Shaun Bartlett says the team needs to look internally to see what is going on following a 3-1 defeat to rivals Cape Town City at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
A penalty kick from Darwin Gonzalez and two goals from striker Khanyisa Mayo were enough for the Citizens to walk away with three points in the much-anticipated Cape Derby.
Spurs’ problems worsen as pressure mounts with the bark stop with the head coach as they experience their seventh straight defeat of the DStv Premiership campaign.
Another loss for the Urban Warriors means they will have to dig deeper to find inspiration for a first win of the season.
A stressed Bartlett believes the team has to go back internally to find the root of the cause.
“I would like to punch a few other people, but I’m punching myself. It’s always a difficult thing not winning in this situation. Nothing goes for you,” said Bartlett.
“I don’t think that was necessarily a penalty. That obviously was the turning point in this game. As far as the effort and commitment, our players tried as much as they could.
“Second half, obviously we brought in subs, trying to change the game, that didn’t work. So I think we’ve got to look internally as to what is happening at this moment in time and how to change the situation.”
On Saturday night Spurs announced the appointment of Sean Connor as the club’s technical director with immediate effect.
Bartlett has stressed the fact that his side cannot add any more players with the transfer window coming and gone is another factor.
“What we have currently is what we have to utilise, there’s nobody else that we can bring in,” he said.
“We’ve got to make the best of what we have in this situation. And as players, as coaches, as a technical team, it’s not something we want to be associated with, it’s not something that’s been done before.
“So we obviously have to look at how to change the situation. And there’s not much time left because there’s a game again on Wednesday that we need to prepare for.”
Image: Cape Town Spurs/ Twitter
