Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has identified three factors hindering the progress of his side since he took over the reins.
The Tunisian tactician was appointed to spearhead Amakhosi ahead of the start of the season, tasked with rebuilding the team and returning the club to its former glory.
Despite a promising start, Amakhosi’s results have recently declined, and the Soweto giants have been struggling.
Nabi has attributed their struggles to three following factors.
WHAT ARE THREE FACTORS THAT HAVE DISRUPTED CHIEFS’ RUN
1 – ‘With youngsters, inconsistency is normal’
Chiefs have heavily relied on young players, and Nabi acknowledges that inconsistency is an inevitable part of their development.
“I feel that at the beginning of the league, the quality was better than, let’s say, the last two or three games,” said Nabi.
“But this has an explanation. There are [three] factors. The first one is when you play a lot of young players, the inconsistency of the performance is normal.”
Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi during the press conference
Nasreddine Nabi – Picture courtesy of Kaizer Chiefs
2 – Injuries
The 59-year-old coach believes injuries have also been part of their significant challenges lately. Currently, key players nursing injuries include Gaston Sirino, Edson Castillo, Teboho Potsane, Dillan Solomons and Bradley Cross.
“Then the second thing is we have been having a lot of injuries that have been impacting our performance on the field and as well impacting the results, which brought so much pressure on the team, on the coach from outside,” he added.
3 – Pressure from media & criticism
Nabi believes that the aforementioned factors, coupled with inconsistent performances, have created immense pressure from the media and fans, leading players to fear making mistakes.
“And then all that pressure impacts our players as well, which sometimes, that’s what we said before, they play with the handbrake and with the fear to not lose. Not the fear to score more, but the fear to not lose.
“And we believe that after this game, three points we can build from this,” he stated.
However, the former Young Africans coach is confident they will overcome all their challenges.
“But we are going to overcome all that because we really believe in our project,” he concluded.
