Richards Bay interim boss Vusi Vilakazi admits the Africa Cup of Nations comes at the wrong time for the struggling DStv Premiership club.
Vilakazi was asked to take over from the recently sacked Kaitano Tembo until a permanent successor can be found.
In his first game in charge of the team, the former Golden Arrows coach led the Natal Rich Boys to a superb 3-1 defeat of high-flying SuperSport United.
He would have hoped to carry that form into their next game, but will have to wait until February 14 when they take on Polokwane city at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Richards Bay are currently second-from-bottom on the league standings with just 13 points from 16 matches.
Vilakazi said on iDiski Times: “I will be honest with you, that was not the wish before the game (to continue playing but now it is).
“It can be now because we have won. But we needed the break because we wanted to fix some of the things. After all, the team right now is not at the level that we want to see.
“We still need to work very hard, so this AFCON break gives us time with the squad to work on other things and beef up the squad because the squad is very thin.”
Reflecting on why Richards Bay are struggling this season, the coach added: “I think believing in themselves, that was the problem.
“Obviously with our previous coach as well, you cannot blame him because the results were not coming. So, you may find that he was also affected by that.
“I will bear with him on that, but he has played a role in the results that we have. I think going forward, we just must maintain they are happy at all times.”