Johannesburg - Kaizer Chiefs’ Sporting Director Kaizer Motaung Junior says everyone that’s associated with the club has to set “realistic and honest” targets as they look to turn over a new leaf under new coach Arthur Zwane.
Chiefs embarked on a momentous journey this week as they appointed club legend Zwane as the new commander in chief, replacing Stuart Baxter who was sacked towards the end of the season amid a string of poor results.
Zwane’s appointment hasn’t been embraced by all the members of the football fraternity, given that he’s inexperienced as this is his first senior team coaching post, while Chiefs are in desperate search of silverware after a seven-year trophy drought.
Despite the pressure to deliver, Zwane embodies Chiefs’ aspirations as they are eager to find their identity and culture. After all, Zwane has been a loyal servant of the club for 22 years, spending 10 of those as a player.
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With Chiefs set for a squad overhaul, with some players set to be released and signed, Motaung has cut a realistic figure about Zwane’s chances of hitting the ground running in the new season.
“I think everyone that’s associated with the club needs to be realistic and honest. Sometimes, that’s a bit uncomfortable and it takes change and people don’t like that,” Motaung said during Zwane’s appointment at FNB Stadium.
“But for us as a club, we don’t need to live in the past. We need to be realistic about our situation and what the team needs. It’s not about the team but the organisation. We are here with one component of the technical side, but there’s many other parts that go with that.”
Zwane’s right-hand man will be his former assistant coach partner and Uefa B Coaching Licence classmate Dillon Sheppard who joined the club two years ago as the second deputy to Gavin Hunt, who was also fired towards the end of the season.
The duo are huge admirers of young blood, given the fact that they cut their coaching teeth in the development ranks before they were elevated to the reserve league. It is there that they forged a relationship after calling time on their playing careers.
Having already been part of the team for some time, Zwane and Sheppard are said to have had a huge say in the signing of Stellebosch duo Ashley Du Preez and Zitha Kwinika, while the club had already snatched up Siyethembe Sithebe on a pre-contract in December.
There are some senior players that are expected to be released by the club, including striking duo Samir Nurkovic and Leonardo Castro who are deemed surplus to requirements by Zwane ahead of new dawn.
Albeit all the support that will be provided to the duo, including the bolstering of the technical as Lee Baxter, the son of the former coach is expected to leave the club, Motaung reiterated it won’t be a smooth ride from the onset.
“No it is not guaranteed to be a smooth ride when the season starts. It’s not teething problems but challenges. Those challenges are going to bring growth,” Motaung said. “These are things that we want to implement that will work now and later.”
IOL Sport