Coach not chief concern
Motaung refuses to speculate on whether Solinas has club’s backing
KAIZER Chiefs have refused to discuss the future of their beleaguered coach Giovanni Solinas.
The Italian is under immense pressure at Amakhosi due to his team’s inconsistent results.
Chiefs have struggled for consistency under the new leadership of Solinas, who joined the team before the start of the season.
Chiefs lost again on Tuesday but advanced to the first round of the Caf Confederation Cup on aggregate. They were humbled 2-1 by Tanzania’s Zimamoto FC in the second leg of their preliminary round tie but triumphed 4-0 in the first leg.
Chiefs football manager Bobby Motaung mummed when asked about the future of Solinas.
“I’m discussing the safety of the coach now? No, I’m not at liberty to discuss the future of the coach and the performance of the team. If there’s any crisis, we will issue a statement. I can’t discuss the future of the coach,” Motaung said.
Chiefs also lost ground in their challenge for Absa Premiership last week when they were beaten 2-1 by Lamontville Golden Arrows at Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu. They are now six points behind PSL leaders and arch rivals Orlando Pirates.
Two weeks ago Amakhosi were dumped out of the Telkom Knockout by Pirates at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
Solinas’s side were also knocked out of the semi-finals of the MTN8 by SuperSport United.
Chiefs have been found wanting on so many occasions this season, while Solinas has been chopping and changing his central defensive pairing for the past four months.
Amakhosi started with the combination of Daniel Cardoso and Eric Mathoho in the heart of defence but the duo couldn’t click. They then switched to Cardoso and Siyabonga Ngezana, but Cardoso came under fire for his poor performances and was dropped to be replaced by when Chiefs ran riot against Zimamoto in the Confederation Cup.
Arrows exposed the pair as they both conceded a penalty as Amakhosi succumbed to a 2-1 defeat. Amakhosi also conceded two penalties on Tuesday against Zimamoto.
Chiefs have conceded 13 goals in 14 matches, which was something unusual under the tutelage of Solinas’s predecessor Steve Komphela. Amakhosi were defensively sound under Komphela.
Solinas rested his key players on Tuesday but that doesn’t mean it is acceptable that a team of Chiefs’ calibre should go down against Zimamoto. They should have put Zimamoto to the sword in both legs.
The likes of Itumeleng Khune, Khama Billiat, Godfrey Walusimbi and Ramahlwe Mphahlele were not involved on Tuesday. Billiat, Walusimbi and Khune were rested, while Mphahlele was left out because of a knee injury.
Chiefs travel to Mbombela Stadium next week to face SuperSport United in a league match. The game was scheduled to take place at the FNB Stadium but it has been moved to Mbombela because of the damaged playing surface at Amakhosi’s preferred home venue.