Chiefs coach: stats mean nothing
Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp has a good record against his side’s old rivals Orlando Pirates but he says that doesn’t really matter to him. The German mentor was speaking ahead of this weekend’s gigantic Absa Premiership Soweto derby set for FNB Stadium tomorrow afternoon. In his two stints at Amakhosi, Middendorp has not tasted defeat in a derby.
“I don’t really care about the statistics,” said Middendorp yesterday, quashing the hype around the issue in the process. He however understands why the game has so much hype around it. He said for Amakhosi the game is more important because of their position on the log. A win will stretch Chiefs’ lead at the top of the table to seven points, with Mamelodi Sundowns involved in the Champions League this weekend, but a defeat will see the Buccaneers cut the gap to three points.
“Why is there so much hype? It is because Chiefs have not been in such a position in a while. It is new, we have players who have played the derby before but the position is different. I have heard talk that Chiefs are the only team who want the title but that is nonsense.”
Middendorp said the result of any match doesn’t matter to him as he forgets about it as quickly as the game ends and focuses on analysing where they got it right and or wrong.
“I don’t get carried away when we win. I didn’t get carried away when we won 3-0 against Highlands Park, I didn’t get carried away when we lost to Maritzburg. I am only concerned about our performance. I look into the performance independent of the result. Results are characteristic. Our results have been bumpy but the performances have a similar trend and I am confident.”
Middendorp also quoted Jomo Sono, saying the game is more about what the players can deliver on the field than about what the coaches can do.
“I like to quote what was said in the recent past by Jomo, ‘when the game starts on the field it is no longer about the coach but up to the players to coach each other, to inspire each other and communicate with each other’. Both teams have scorers and creators and it is up to them to do the job on the