Kaizer Jnr on Zwane: Negotiating a Tricky Situation

KAIZER CHIEFS

Saturday was a day of reflection for Kaizer Chiefs, as they dropped points at home to Golden Arrows the day before. With the Soweto Derby against Orlando Pirates looming, sporting director Kaizer Motaung Jnr threw his weight behind head coach Arthur Zwane.

Amakhosi have been struggling to gain traction in the DSTV Premiership, sitting on 28 points after 20 matches. Their defensive record is the worst in the top eight, having conceded 24 goals, and they share the record of the most defeats (eight) with Cape Town City in the top half of the standings.

On Monday, during a Soweto Derby press conference held at Vodacom World in Midrand, Johannesburg, Motaung Jnr spoke about the situation at the club and gave his backing to the coach.

“We are not happy with having lost eight games. We are a big team and success is demanded. There are so many games where we think ‘how did we not come away with full points in that game?’ We’ve created an immense amount of chances this season. We haven’t taken them and we have conceded a lot of goals. Football can be a very simple game. You’ve got to score to win and close the back door. It’s clear for the technical staff the areas they need to work on and I think it’s for our side as management to work on the areas we see fit and where we can contribute to help,” Motaung Jnr said.

“From our board of directors and chairman (Kaizer Motaung), we are fully behind the coach. Our job is to provide as much infrastructure and and support as we can. It’s a tricky one for him too because we are facing Pirates, for example. They are three points ahead of us, we’ve drawn the same amount of games. I think they have one (win) more than us. We’ve scored maybe one more goal. It’s fine margins and it’s fine margins also in perceptions. At the moment in time, the most important thing is a lot of calmness and support. That’s what important for the technical staff and players because at the end of the day, emotions and perceptions can be misleading. We need to make sure that everyone can be objective as possible. We ask that we support the technical staff and players because at the end of the day, our situation can be changed in a game or two. We want to focus on moving forward and rectifying the situation.”

Kaizer Chiefs’ sporting director Kaizer Motaung Jnr has come out publicly to back head coach Arthur Zwane ahead of their upcoming Soweto Derby against Orlando Pirates. Motaung Jnr expressed his desire to provide the technical staff and players with the necessary support and infrastructure to help rectify their current situation.

“We are not happy with having lost eight games. We are a big team and success is demanded,” Motaung Jnr said. “At the moment in time, the most important thing is a lot of calmness and support. That’s what important for the technical staff and players because at the end of the day, emotions and perceptions can be misleading. We need to make sure that everyone can be objective as possible.”

With management coming out to back Zwane, the coach might feel some weight being lifted off him, especially with the Soweto Derby against Orlando Pirates coming up this weekend.