Cape Town Spurs’ head coach Ernst Middendorp has commended Kaizer Chiefs management for supporting their coach, Nasreddine Nabi after facing challenges since taking charge.
Nabi was appointed at the start of the 2024/25 season together with his technical team after the team had a disastrous 2023/24 season where they finished tenth on the log with 36 points and without a trophy.
The Tunisian tactician began his tenure with a 4-0 baptism received at the hands of his former club Young Africans SC of Tanzania in the Toyota Cup.
The struggle continued after the season started, Chiefs continued to drop points and are now sitting eighth on the log with 28 points having won eight games, drawn four and lost eight in their opening 20 league games.
Middendorp admitted that Amakhosi have a different vision with Nabi having allowed him to bring his own technical team which is something that was not done during his second tenure and three recent coaches.
“Kaizer Chiefs have made a decision I think not only about bringing a coach Nabi, bringing a technical team, expertise in different areas in terms of the conditioning. I don’t know which model is behind in terms of the analytic side, in terms of goalkeeping and in terms of every other department what at this moment is in the modern game requested, he said to Soccerbeat.
“They brought a technical team and that’s a different dimension bringing a technical team of five guys who are sorting out different areas with a certain expertise.
“I don’t know who is making the final decision in terms of which players are needed. I think they brought a couple of players in terms of defenders, we can see in terms of the movement forward. In the front line, we can see in terms of the midfield line now.
“I think if a team like Kaizer Chiefs made this decision with a huge technical team, there’s no way that they can stop after five or six months, they have to give it at least a run into the second season and then get confirmation about their decision to bring a complete expertise team into this responsibilities into the authority and then to see latest in the second season that there will be success.
Teams have adopted the style of quickly parting ways with the coach when the results are not coming, Mamelodi Sundowns axed Manqoba Mngqithi after being knocked out of MTN8 in the semi-finals and was edged by Magesi FC in the final of the Carling Knocking Cup despite being at the helm of the log.
The 66-year-old applauded Chiefs for awarding their current coach time to turn things around and showing that they have faith that he can still accomplish his mission.
“It’s a pleasure to see that some clubs have a certain patience to go for it and to wait that the success is coming but they have to be convinced and I think with all the expertise inside Kaizer Chiefs management there should be enough expertise to see what happened on a day-to-day basis,’ he concluded.
Amakhosi have a chance to take a step closer towards ending the decade-long trophy when they take on Stellenbosch FC in the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, with kick-off set for 18:00.