Mabedi promises Chiefs fans that the club will get the balance right this season
KAIZER CHIEFS’ caretaker coach Patrick Mabedi has a message for the club’s supporters who watched their defeat to a relatively second string Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday and lost faith.
An army of Amakhosi fans left FNB Stadium after Themba Zwane’s goal in optional time gave the Brazilians a 2-0 lead in the Shell Helix Ultra Cup. Those fans missed out on Bernard Parker’s consolation goal that made the final score respectable at 2-1. The disappointment wasn’t necessarily about that specific performance, but it’s a build-up of three trophy-less seasons – an anomaly for a club that’s synonymous with success.
“We’re in a process of pre-season. This game showed us what we need to do and what we need to work on,” Mabedi said.
“Sometimes, in football, you mustn’t take things at face value. It’s good to have hiccups at the beginning so that you work on them early because you’re in a mission. I need to give credit to the players. It’s just that when you play against a team like Sundowns, you make one mistake and they punish you. We’re looking forward to be better in the upcoming season.”
Giovanni Solinas will be in charge of that upcoming season, and the Italian’s work permit should be sorted this week. Mabedi will then return to his post of assistant coach, the role he played last season under Steve Komphela before being promoted to lead the side after Komphela’s resignation in April.
Mabedi saw first-hand Chiefs lose steam towards the last stretch of the league race which saw the Soweto giant finish behind Sundowns and rivals Orlando Pirates. The silver-lining is that Amakhosi qualified for continental football, and will feature in the Caf Confederation Cup later this year.
Chiefs settled for third place because they didn’t take matches by the scruff of the neck last season nor were they potent enough upfront to challenge Pirates and Sundowns. Their strong defence held the team together. In Khama Billiat they have a player who can make something out of nothing with a moment of brilliance.
The club’s attack is also shaping up well with Leonardo Castro leading it, while there are also Ryan Moon, Dumisani Zuma, Kabelo Mahlasela and Siphelele Ntshangase among others. The problem has been not enough supply from midfield to the attack which means that the playmakers must step up.
But Chiefs will not be making any drastic signings now, as Mabedi said the club is only looking at adding a leftback.
“What we saw last year is history, we learned from it and we’re taking the positives to this upcoming season,” Mabedi said. “We know where we were lacking. We played well and we had a good team last season, don’t take anything away from it. It was just unfortunate that we didn’t score goals. It’s important now to get the balance right. We are working on it and we have players who are capable of getting those goals. Now we have a way of working to get it right.”