Time is a luxury that Solinas doesn’t have

Kaizer Chiefs coach Giovanni Solinas has asked their fans and the management to be patient with him and give him some time to prepare his team, but in reality, the only time and breathing space that he can create for himself is by not losing games.

Categorically speaking, teams like Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates can’t really afford to give coaches time because they demand success and the fans’ expectations are high. Coaches need to make sure they are grinding out the results. In the meantime, while winning, they need to make sure they sus- tain the wins. That is the only way Solinas can buy himself time.

The Italian has to, in very little time, make sure the players he has will produce the results. He has not coached the team before, but the majority of players are the players who have been with Chiefs for some time.

He has to find out what stopped the team from winning and what he will need to do to make sure these players get the side back on the winning trail.

Solinas referred to his opposite number Pitso Mosimane, who when he took over at Chloorkop in 2012, was given time and that has paid off as Sundowns have cemented their place as a big club in the PSL and have made their mark in Africa. If I am not mistaken, Sundowns were not doing that well during that early era but they still won one or two trophies, but Chiefs have not won any silverware at all.

The former Free State Stars coach can’t afford to be given time although we know coaches do need time to settle in and instil their philosophy into the team. Chiefs have not been winning for a long time yet they were a team that always won trophies.

By the time Pitso came in, Sundowns were signing players randomly and that made it a bit of challenge to ensure they identified what their biggest problem was. They found where the problem was and stopped buying players. The team then started to win. Even Pitso struggled but it was not for too long.

That is why I say the cases are different between Pitso and Solinas. Chiefs kept the core of the team while Pitso overhauled his squad. The core of the team that was instrumental then is still there at Chiefs. Players like Itumeleng Khune, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Willard Katsande, Eric Mathoho and Bernard Parker are all featuring, so I don’t think it is fair to make comparisons between the two situations.

However, it is great to have the league back and we are happy to have football back after quite a break. There was a lot going on in the build-up to the start of the new season such as whether the actual league would kick off, especially with the Ajax Cape Town saga, but in the end it all turned out well.

The stage was set up in a rather usual manner – for instance, Sundowns playing Chiefs in the

first league game is something we are not used to. I think this was a masterstroke by the PSL because it is another way of trying to immediately generate interest.

If it was deliberate to have all these mouth-watering fixtures, then it was surely a good move because we are not used to seeing big clubs facing each other so early, especially the derbies in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo between Maritzburg United and Golden Arrows, and Black Leopards against Polokwane City.

I think it was a matter of taking the league to the next level and it has really paid off. Look at the match between Sundowns and Chiefs, Loftus Versfeld was packed to the brim, as well as the game at the Harry Gwala Stadium. SuperSport United played Cape Town City in the Mother City and interest is always huge there when those two sides meet.