Ronnie Kanalelo has taken over as Tigers’ coach after the resignation of Brian Isaacs on Wednesday.
Isaacs resigned as Tigers coach after being put on temporary suspension by Tigers’ management following their poor results of late.
Isaacs told Namibia Sport that he was temporarily released and asked to submit a report following Tigers’ shock 2-1 defeat against Blue Boys last weekend.
“I was told that I am being temporarily suspended from my duties and that I had to submit a report on what went wrong and why Tigers had lost three games in a row,” he said.
Isaacs said he could not attend a meeting with Tigers’ management on Wednesday due to work commitments, but decided to resign, because he saw his suspension as a ‘slap in the face.’
“I received a letter questioning my abilities and saying that I could not lead Tigers to further heights, and as a result I was being temporarily suspended until the issue was investigated. But to me it was clear that they did not want me there and I suspected hidden motives. I saw it as a slap in the face and I therefore decided to resign to make it easier for all parties concerned,” he said.
Isaacs said he was very disappointed to leave Tigers.
“I was very disappointed. I developed a competitive team and I built a good foundation so it came as a slap in the face to me,” he said.
Isaacs said he was sad to leave his players behind but urged them to remain professional and give their best for the club.
“The players were very disappointed about my resignation, but I talked to them and urged them to do their best against Blue Waters. They are professional players and need to think about their careers,” he said.
Regarding Tigers’ shock defeat against Blue Boys, Isaacs said that they dominated the game but could not score.
“I used a lot of players who had not played earlier in the season, but we still dominated the match and could have scored at least seven goals in the first half. But unfortunately we did not score and Blue Boys used their chances to win the match,” he said.
Tigers said he had no hard feelings and wished Kanalelo well with Tigers.
“Ronnie called me and said he had been approached by Tigers. I told him it was true that I had resigned and that I did not have a problem with him approaching Tigers. I wished him good luck and also talked to Tigers’ management, saying that there were no hard feelings,” he said.
Ironically, Isaacs and Kanalelo are the joint caretaker coaches of the Brave Warriors, following the resignation of Tom Saintfiet in September.
After a promising start that saw them beating Black Africa and African Stars in their first two matches, Tigers’ form dipped as they lost their next three matches in a row.
On October 13 they lost 1-0 to Ramblers, although Isaacs was not present at the match since he was attending a FIFA course in Cairo, Egypt.
He was however back a week later when they lost 2-1 against Orlando Pirates, in a match where Tigers surrendered an early lead after having a player sent off just before halftime.
And then last Saturday, Tigers hit rock bottom when they lost 2-1 against Blue Boys.