Solinas: I believe in my defenders

THE KAIZER CHIEFS back four may currently be under some serious scrutiny, but coach Giovanni Solinas isn’t batting an eyelid.

Well, the Italian was a little irritated by the constant criticism of his defenders after they collapsed under pressure in the Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates on Saturday – a game in which the Buccaneers took advantage of errors at the back.

Mario Booysen, who was signed by Chiefs just days before the close of the transfer window in August, was under much of the spotlight.

“Guys, please listen to me,” Solinas,

pictured, said to a journalist after the weekend’s 2-1 PSL defeat.

“Me, I don’t change my defenders according to how Pirates or Wits or Sundowns play. I keep my defenders. I don’t know, but this is not a poor performance from our defenders. I don’t change my defenders by looking at the other teams. I believe in my defenders, not just those that played today, but those that were on the bench.”

Solinas appears to have forgotten that he’s already admitted – at least once – this season that Amakhosi need to work on their defensive transition. At the time he made his comments, he had not won a single league game in five outings. On average, Chiefs have conceded a goal in every match this season with Siyabonga Ngezana and Daniel Cardoso the most used central defensive pairing. Booysen took Cardoso’s place for the Soweto derby.

The loss to Pirates pushed the Glamour Boys down to seventh place on the league standings and has put immense pressure on Solinas, who has inherited a team that has failed to win any major silverware in the previous three years under his predecessor Steve Komphela.