Baxter boosting side’s confidence
NEW COACH WORKING ON MORE STABILITY Former Chiefs boss happy to reunite with Nkhatha.
Call it Operation Stabilise. That is what SuperSport United coach Stuart Baxter has embarked on after taking over the reins at the Tshwane club.
Part of Baxter’s mission is inspiring confidence in the players to reach their peak and perform to the best of their abilities. Perhaps one could imagine the first player in line would have been Kingston Nkhatha.
The Zimbabwean foward has not only found a new lease on life after his reconnection with Baxter at Matsatsantsa a Pitori, but Baxter insists that he is also playing a different role than at Kaizer Chiefs.
The pair had a working relationship, while they were both at Chiefs but had to part ways after Nkhatha accused Amakhosi of “taking too long” to offer him a new deal at the club.
“Some players feel comfortable with their coach,” said Baxter, “they feel his confidence and that pushes them on.
“I challenge Kingston all the time, I am not his uncle, I am not a nice guy with him all the time and I push him. But I think Kingston has reacted well to me over the years and I think he was quite pleased when I came back.
“Kingston has a slightly different role here than at Chiefs because we have Jeremy Brockie and him playing as a pair. They work really hard.”
Baxter will be hoping that the pair will be in fine form when they take on cross-town rivals SuperSport United tomorrow afternoon at Lucas Moripe Stadium.
Baxter is in search of his first victory after succeeding Gordon Igesund.
SuperSport head into the derby with a 3-1 hiding from Ajax Cape Town in their last league outing still fresh on their minds.
But Baxter has also noted that the team’s inconsistency has a lot of bearing in its inability not to concede goals.
“If a team is underachieving, the fi rst thing it affects is the defending,” Baxter offered, “and usually the team’s defending, not only the centreback or the fullback, but the team’s defending. It is not a quick fi x but the mentality you can change very quickly.”
Kick-off at Atteridgeville is at 3.30pm.