Kaizer Chiefs coach Molefi Ntseki, who previously held the position of technical director at the club before coming down stairs to coach the first team is backing himself, saying he is the right candidate to bring back the glory days at Naturena.
Kaizer Chiefs fans were unable to hide their disappointment when the team announced that Head of technical Molefi Ntseki would be taking over the head coach duties this season. Chiefs brought in Molefi Ntseki from the Bafana Bafana set up recently and it shows that the plan had always been to bring him to coach the team and not the technical role, that he held previously. Chiefs management were always hesitant in their plans for the head coach position last season.
There were rumours that coach Arthur Zwane would remain in his position and then later the name of Nasreddine Nabi, a former coach of Tanzanian side Young Africans got thrown into the hat. Chiefs fans who had gotten frustrated by the club’s inconsistencies in the league were excited after hearing Nabi’s name as they clearly were no longer trusting Zwane as their head coach. The deal to bring the Tunisian coach to Naturena fell through. Management denied that the club was in talks to bring Nabi to Naturena.
Management said that that “a lot of the stuff was pushed by the media in the wrong direction”, even though there were concrete reports confirming that the deal fell through because of salary demands. Soon after that Amakhosi management made the surprise call, which was the announcement of Molefi Ntseki. Fans were unable to hide their disappointment on the appointment, as they felt that their new coach would not be able to deliver on the mammoth task of getting the team to win trophies and unseat Mamelodi Sundowns at the summit of South African football.
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The MTN8 trophy is a perfect opportunity for Molefi Ntseki to win Kaizer Chiefs fans over
Ntseki recently had an opportunity to tell the story from the horse’s mouth, on how the deal came about and to try and persuade the fans to buy into his philosophy. The former Bafana Bafana assistant coach is fully aware that he is not viewed as the favourite nor was he first choice for the job and therefore not surprised by those saying he should not have gotten the job in the first place.
“There was a lot of noise about other coaches coming to Kaizer Chiefs and management never said anything about anybody coming to the club, I think it was a plan from the club to have somebody from within to continue with the technical team. As for the public (fans) and anybody who had questions about me, I have said it that in South Africa you are rendered useless before you are even born”, he said when asked if he has what it takes to take the club where it belongs at the top.
Ntseki also explained that what makes it even difficult for him is that he will have to start from scratch to build trust and support, as he is not one of the well-known coaches from the PSL, the African continent or the rest of the world. Coach Ntseki has a lot to do to convince fans that he will do better than the previous coaches who failed to deliver trophies in the past 8 seasons.
The MTN8 semi-finals win against Cape Town City provides a perfect platform for the coach to prove or bring fans on his side so they can buy into his ideas for the rest of the season. Molefi is confident that his side has what it takes to lift the MTN8 trophy ahead of rivals Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns and Stellenbosch.
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