The jury is still out on Chiefs new man Castro

Kaizer Chiefs have been busy in the transfer window and have made impressive acquisitions with the likes of Leonardo Castro, Kabelo Mahlasela and Siphelele Ntshangase. These guys will help the team upfront in terms of goal-scoring. Chiefs have been struggling to convert their chances and I think in Castro they believe they have someone who can solve that problem.

I am not too sure if Castro will help Chiefs because we saw him at Mamelodi Sundowns where he was surrounded by exceptional players but he didn’t score as many goals as one would have expected, especially playing with those kinds of players that Sundowns had around him.

But then again, looking at Naturena, it is a totally different environment compared to Sundowns and maybe the change of scenery is what the Colombian needs.

Pressure is on head coach Steve Komphela now because we have heard the Chiefs management highlighting the disappointment they have felt over the past two seasons as they have not won a single trophy.

The pressure will be on him – as always – but this time around I feel like it will be more because he is coming towards the end of the season and for him to make sure he prolongs his stay at Chiefs he needs to make sure he delivers.

I am hoping that the players that they have brought will help with the challenges that he is facing in terms of making sure that they win silverware. They are still in the running for league honours, but they’ll have to try their utmost to win the Nedbank Cup.

I don’t think a second-place finish in the league will be acceptable to the Chiefs fans because they have been patient enough, supporting the team through thick and thin.

I really do believe this second half of the season will be the defining factor for Komphela and the team.

Chippa United have recalled their long-serving Roger Sikhakhane, but this time he has been deployed as the technical director of the Chilli Boys and will work hand-in-hand with head coach Teboho Moloi. Lately we have been seeing technical advisers and technical directors being appointed in the league.

I applaud that move by Siviwe Mpengesi but what will be key in this venture will be the working relationship between Moloi and Sikhakhane and the entire technical team.

It will also be very important that the management doesn’t do what they have been accused of doing in the past, which was to interfere with the coach’s job more especially when the desired results are not forthcoming.

Mpengesi needs to support both the technical adviser and the coach. It is a good thing that our

league is now moving in the direction of having technical directors because in modern football it is no longer just about having one coach and the technical staff.

You need more members in the technical team to make sure the team perform well and to also make sure all the challenges are addressed.

You look at many teams that are successful all over the world, they have got technical directors and more technical members. Another thing that is lacking in our football is the working relationship. It has been poor, especially coming from management – they don’t understand the role of a technical director.

If the management of Chippa can respect the roles of the technical director and that of the technical team at large, they will start to see better results.