Despite coach Nasreddine Nabi’s struggles at Kaizer Chiefs, the club’s football manager Bobby Motaung has given the biggest indication yet that he will still be at the club next season.
Chiefs' Tunisian tactician has endured a rollercoaster first season at the helm, with eight league wins and 10 defeats in his first 23 league matches.
Chiefs have lost their last two league matches, and have only won one match in their last five league outings. Chiefs face TS Galaxy on Saturday evening, hoping to avoid a third-straight defeat that will definitely ramp up the pressure on Nabi.
Chiefs are currently in eighth position on the Betway Premiership standings, seven points off the relegation playoff position and a staggering 29 points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
Bobby Motaung says Nabi is going nowhere, guys we will be playing in Motsepe Foundation very soon😭😭😭 #KaizerChiefs #BetwayPrem pic.twitter.com/s6Fjx1gjcQ
Chiefs, however, still have a chance to break their trophy drought this season after beating Stellenbosch FC in the quarter-finals of the Nedbank Cup. But they face Sundowns - who have already beaten Amakhosi thrice this season, in the semi-finals next weekend.
It seems like Motaung’s thinking has more to do with the departure of Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro, after the Bucs announced that the Spanish mentor will not be renewing his contract at the end of the season.
With Pirates having to reset after Riveiro’s trophy-laden spell, Motaung is hoping that continuity may be the best course of action, citing their own past experiences.
A video circulating on social media has surfaced of Motaung telling a group of people - including brother Kaizer Motaung Junior - that they must guts it out and stay the course. He talks about the example of how Chiefs have struggled to rebuild after winning the league with Stuart Baxter in 2015, their last major trophy. The Englishman left soon after.
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“You see the Pirates coach is leaving next season, they have to start from fresh, we are not changing anything next season,” Motaung is seen saying in the video.
“You see if that coach … remember Stuart Baxter did us like this, he gave us three seasons and when he saw his profile was right what did he do?
“Thats how it is, this thing needs balls.”
A few more defeats, however, will see Nabi come under more pressure, which will in turn force the Chiefs bosses to think deeply about their latest position on the coaching situation.
@JohnGoliath82