Durban - Dylan Kerr has been named as the new coach of struggling DSTV Premiership outfit Swallows FC.
The Dube Birds parted ways with former coach Brandon Truter following their 3-1 defeat to Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs last weekend. Truter left the club in last place on the log with just one win from 12 games so far this season.
Gauteng MEC for Education Panyaza Lesufi who is also a senior club official at Swallows posted a message on social media welcoming Kerr to Swallows.
“Welcome to the nest coach Dylan Kerr, let’s fly again,” wrote Lesufi on Twitter.
The Malta-born Kerr’s immediate focus will be to navigate his new club away from the drop-zone with his first assignment being Swallows’ home assignment against Maritzburg United at the Dobsonville Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
A win against the Team of Choice may be sufficient to actually see Swallows exit the relegation zone given that there are just two points that separate them from 12th place Chippa United.
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If one thing is certain, Kerr is no stranger to relegation battles. The 54-year-old helped Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivandila (TTM) avoid relegation last season before the club sold its top-flight status to Marumo Gallants. He also remarkably helped TTM win the Nedbank Cup last season with Gallants taking its place in the CAF Confederation Cup this term.
Kerr is somewhat of a journeyman having coached TTM, Black Leopards and Baroka FC last season alone.
He cut his teeth as a manager with Mpumalanga Black Aces while also having coaching stints in England, Vietnam, Kenya and Tanzania.
Kerr recently revealed that he rejected the chance to coach GladAfrica Championship side Cape Town Spurs prior to the Western Cape side recruiting Shaun Bartlett.
🗣️Kerr"We thinking now"#SwallowsFC🐦 pic.twitter.com/96Q27vyZM5
— SwallowsFC (@Moroka_Swallows) December 1, 2021
"I got a call from Cape Town Spurs a couple of weeks ago, I thought it was not right for me personally, even though Cape Town would've been a great place to live," Kerr told the media in Durban.
"At the end of day, right now I'm in a good space and healthy, sometimes you have to take a step back and observe, last time I went from Baroka FC straight to Black Leopards, now I didn't want to sd that."
Meanwhile, Gordon Igesund and Gavin Hunt were previously linked to the Swallows coaching job.
Hunt previously coached the Dube Birds between 2002-2007 while Igesund previously led it to a second-place finish in the 2011/12 season before he was appointed Bafana Bafana coach.
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