Former coach not surprised Chiefs strolled to victory

FORMER Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns coach Ted Dumitru will know more than most the difficulties of retaining the Premier Soccer League title.

He has pulled off the feat twice with Mamelodi Sundowns and Chiefs, so putting Stuart Baxter’s recent achievement in the shade.

Chiefs won their second PSL under Baxter in three seasons on Wednesday night and they finished second to Mamelodi Sundowns last season.

Dumitru, 75, has been one of Baxter’s sharpest critics but the Romanian mentor pointed out that Chiefs were always going to be likely league winners at the start of the season.

While they did not achieve their fourth PSL title with the kind of skill and panache Dumitru’s sides were known for, Chiefs were challenged this season and when they were floored, they often responded quickly and sealed the title in a comprehensive manner.

“I said at the beginning of the season that the club with the most experienced defenders and the most settled squad would pose the most serious challenge to win the league,” Dumitru said.

“The standard of the rest of the teams was not as competitive as they should have been.

“With Kaizer Chiefs’ strong defence and conservative approach, it was going to difficult to see them bothered and at the end of the day, I was proven right.”

Baxter’s approach has been one of defensive solidity and rapid counter-attacks, which has seen the goals being spread evenly through the team.

It asked questions about the proficiency of Chiefs’ strikers, but their transition game has allowed their midfielders to prosper as they often flooded the box, leaving defenders at sixes and sevens.

In Dumitru’s 2003-04 triumph, Chiefs conceded a paltry 11 goals as Brian Baloyi and Rowen Fernandez were well shielded.

With three games remaining in this campaign, Chiefs have let in only 12 goals and they are two away from reaching the 39 scored in that pioneering season, which was Chiefs’ first PSL era title.

While they struggled to recapture that attacking flair, defensive stability has been the hallmark of Baxter’s tenure and Dumitru said the majority of PSL sides had neither the technical expertise nor the personnel to consistently put Chiefs under pressure.

“If you can’t construct attacks against Chiefs, you are going to struggle to penetrate their defence.

“That goes hand in hand with the way they play and the way they defend. Congratulations to them but I feel the opposition was far below par.

“That should be a worry for the PSL,” Dumitru said.