Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef were promoted to the position of co-coaches since the sacking of Nasreddine Nabi, and things are not looking rosey for them.
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Former Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Brian Baloyi has called on the club’s management not to shy away from making a tough decision regarding the future of co-coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef.
After heavy defeats against Stellenbosch FC (2-1), Orlando Pirates (3-0), and most recently Richards Bay FC (1-0), Chiefs have found themselves struggling once again.
What had appeared to be a promising start to the season has rapidly unravelled, with the team already eliminated from the Caf Confederations Cup and losing ground in the race for a top-three league finish.
These setbacks have frustrated both club legends and fans alike, particularly as Chiefs continue to struggle for consistency. Their previous two league seasons were overshadowed by failure to secure a top-eight finish.
Baloyi, who won league titles with both Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns during his playing career, has questioned some of the decisions made by the club this season. In particular, he criticised the choice not to replace Nasreddine Nabi with a permanent coach, opting instead to rely on the co-coaching setup.
“There is so many changes each and every game,” Baloyi said on a YouTube podcast, SoccerBeat.
“And with all this changes, the club must stop being so secrative and tell us if the changes are injury forced or what are they trying to look at.
“They look like an ametuer team. You can’t this a proffessional team when you havent had the same starting line up in a long time. At the end of the day, I will be proven right with what I said back in December that Chiefs have a coaching problem.”
Baloyi also warned that the current situation could lead to the loss of some of Chiefs’ top players, who might consider leaving if the club continues backing the current coaching setup.
“Unfortunately some of the good players that are there within the team, the club is going to lose them because of the difficult period they are going through and lack of decisiveness that the club did early in the season that could have worked for the club and the players.”
While acknowledging that the season still has time to turn around, Baloyi urged Amakhosi’s hierarchy to take decisive action.
“Don’t be scared to make the difficult decision, if you to fire them, fire them, something has got to give and it can’t be business as usual.
“There is still a lot of games to go, and if Chiefs are serious about rescuing the season, and right now its just about rescuing the season without winning anything but to finish in a respectable position and get back the confidence of the supporters.
“To a large extent I feel that the club is unfair to this young players because you are just throwing them in the deep end without proper guidance.
“You need to look for someone that has coached the club and understands the club and comes in as a mentor to the coaches or take over to the end of the season, but you need someone Muhsin Ertugral because the players do not have confidence in this coaches and its clear to see.”
* Obakeng Meletse is Independent Media’s multi-sport writer. For fresh video content, follow our YouTube channel The Clutch