Following his side’s victory over TS Galaxy this past weekend, Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Cedric Kaze has credited the return of key players from injury as a significant factor behind Amakhosi’s resurgence.
The win against Galaxy was Chiefs’ fourth on the trot having gone through a slump that saw the team losing three consecutive matches. The defeats led some fans to march to Naturena to demand the release of Kaze and fellow coa-coach Khalil Ben Youssef.
Chiefs hampered by injuries
However, victories over Durban City, Magesi, ORBIT College and Galaxy have quickly turned things around for Chiefs and they are now on course to finish in the top three in the Betway Premiership and that would guarantee them a spot in next season’s CAF competitions.
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“The consistency in the recent results comes from the consistency in performances and the consistency in the line-up. I am the first to understand why we struggled a few weeks ago when we had like three defeats in a row. It was a very unfortunate situation where we had so many injuries,” said Kaze after his team’s win over Galaxy at the FNB Stadium on Sunday.
“We couldn’t keep the same line up, the players who were injured who are back are creating more competition, (Khanyisa) Mayo, Ox (Sibongiseni Mthethwa), Ethan (Chislett), Given (Msimango) and Bradley (Cross) are all back, having more choices makes the team better in all ways,” he added before revealing the secret behind Amakhosi’s return to form.
“We have a game model that we’ve been working on. Specifically, the ways to get inside the box, the ways to create 2v1 situations and the ways to overload either side of the field.
“I believe that we understand one another better and there is greater understanding between the players themselves. That gives more opportunities to score goals,” explained Kaze.
‘We need to keep pressure’
Chiefs will next face bottom-placed Magesi FC at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday. Ahead of this clash, Kaze has called for consistency from his charges.
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“We need to keep pressure on everyone in training and outside of training to recover well. We need to sleep early and pull in the same direction. The message must be consistent, we can’t relax, we need to be better. Every day, we need to concentrate in every training session, it’s the only thing that will keep us in a good space,” concluded Kaze.
