Tovey appointed new Aces coach

Neil Tovey has been appointed as the new coach of Mpumalanga Black Aces.

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It was a tight race between him and fellow Durbanite Gordon Igesund but in the end, Tovey just pipped his competitor to the post and is the man who will replace Aiki Ayiomamitis, who was fired after only three games in charge.

Although Ayiomamitis guided Aces to a playoff finish where they lost to Black Leopards in the first leg but regrouped to finish off their opponents in the second leg in a dramatic penalty shootout to regain their Premiership status, it had been pretty tough going in the new season.

Aces went on an unprecedented shopping spree during the off-season, bringing in a record 18 new players. But even then, that has not stopped the team from going on a free-fall, losing their opening three games.

A painful 3-2 loss to Platinum Stars in their opening game at home gave them hope. However, it was followed by a 2-1 loss away to defending champions SuperSport and that appeared to ring alarm bells within the camp. And when they went down 1-0 to Santos at home, it was more than management could stomach and Ayiomamitis was fired.

Now it will be up to Tovey not only to restore confidence in the team, but also to bring out all the motivational skills he has learned along the way while he was still at Mamelodi Sundowns and AmaZulu to help resuscitate spirit in a team with so much potential but who have not been able to realise their true worth.

Aces come up against newly promoted Vasco da Gama at the Puma Rugby Stadium in Mpumalanga on October 17 and that will be a real test of character for Tovey which should give everyone an indication of whether he has what it takes to steer his team out of the drop zone.