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ONE OF THE PSL'S MOST SUCCESSFUL CLUBS IS SETTING ITS SIGHTS ON A RETURN TO THE TOP IN THE COMING YEARS

- By Mogamad Allie

His team may have spent the past eight years wallowing in the third-tier of South African football without ever looking like they could be embarking on a great escape from the clutches of ignominy, but Santos president Goolam Allie (right) still has his sights on his club returning to at least the second-tier.

In what has been a mighty fall from grace, one of only seven clubs to have won the league title since the inception of the PSL in 1996, have been treading water in the provincial ABC Motsepe League since being relegated from the National First Division (NFD) in 2017.

During their eight seasons in the third-tier, Santos has failed to mount a credible challenge to qualify for the national playoffs which would give them a shot at winning promotion to the NFD. With local rivals Cape Town Spurs now also in the race to secure a swift return to the second-tier following their relegation at the end of last season, Santos' task to win promotion has become even more challenging.

Add to that a growing number of ambitious, cash-flush new club owners who are keen to use their financial muscle to catapult their teams to the bigger leagues and it becomes clear that being successful in the third-tier is becoming tougher with each passing season.

But hope springs eternal for Allie. He has not given up hope that his once feared team would soon climb the rungs of the ladder back to the big league. "Definitely, I still have ambitions to return Santos to the top flight," he tells SoccerClub. "I would like to retire within the next three years with Santos at least being in the Motsepe Championship."