A Herculean task awaits head coach Dylan Kerr, as he tries to make the Dube Birds take flight again to keep up with South Africa’s best, writes Nkareng Matshe.

It all seemed perfect at the start of last season for Swallows FC. Having gained automatic promotion from the GladAfrica Championship in August 2020, the club quickly found its feet in the top league, proving a difficult side to break down.

They were causing upsets when most thought they would struggle, given their miraculous journey to promotion. They were 14th in the Championship before Brandon Truter remarkably turned their fortunes around and rapidly earned promotion.

It took 17 Premiership games before they first tasted defeat, by which time the fear of relegation was a distant memory. So impressive were the Birds that some even thought they might challenge for the title and Truter was winning plaudits for turning the club into a competitive force in such a short space of time. He was duly rewarded with back-to-back coach of the month awards in November and December 2020.

It seemed nothing could go wrong. But it did at the start of 2021. Swallows increasingly looked weary. Suddenly, wins dried up and were replaced by draws. At the end of the season, Swallows had set an unwanted record: The first PSL side to draw 20 out of 30 league matches.

The few wins they got proved to be incredibly useful as they still managed to claim a spot in the top half of the table and a place in the following season’s lucrative MTN8 competition. Objectively, it was still a very decent return for a newly-promoted side.

However, the wheels continued to come off. Swallows’ rise to the top half of the league was backed by several on-loan players who, after the season, were required to return to their parent clubs. Sammy Seabi, a key man in central midfield who had played 18 games, was recalled by Mamelodi Sundowns, only to be sent out on loan again to Chippa United.

Sfiso Hlanti and Kgaogelo Sekgota – also prominent starters for Truter in the previous year – went off to Kaizer Chiefs. But, arguably, Swallows’ biggest loss was that of Njabulo Ngcobo, also to Chiefs, although he was sold for profit.

Ngcobo was named PSL Defender of the Year in 2021 and started 28 out of 30 games. He missed the last game of the season due to suspension and was only rested once all year. He was a rock and his departure left a gaping hole in the Swallows defence.

Despite all this, Swallows neglected go on a recruitment drive for adequate replacements. They still had veterans Vuyo Mere (37), Musa Nyatama (34), Thabo Matlaba (33) and Lebohang Mokoena (35) starting games this season. Striker Ruzaigh Gamildien, 32, continued to lead the attack.

Another veteran, Tebogo Langerman, 35, who had been declared surplus to requirements at Sundowns, arrived with minimal game time from the past two years, only to be thrust into a starting position at left back as Hlanti’s replacement.

PSL coaches that had struggled to read Truter’s innovative gameplan in the previous season were far more prepared now the element of surprise had been removed. Another issue Truter had to overcome was losing members of his backroom staff to greener pastures.

As a consequence, it has been a freefall for Swallows. The club is languishing around the bottom of the league table and looking completely devoid of the quality needed to break away. Almost halfway through the season they had managed to score just four goals.

Truter, having been suspended in September, was sacked along with his entire backroom staff after a disastrous 1-3 loss to Chiefs in November 2021. Dylan Kerr, renowned for saving clubs from relegation, was roped in to save the day.

A Herculean task awaits him, as he tries to make the Birds take flight again. He has inherited an ageing, dispirited dressing room that has forgotten how to win and how to score. A team whose chairman is more obsessed with likes on Twitter rather than the core business of football, which is to win.
Will the Birds fly higher again? Only time will tell.

Fast Facts:
Full Name: Dylan Kerr
Date of Birth: 14 January 1957
Place of Birth: Valletta, Malta
Position: Defender
Retired: 2003