Following four defeats on the bounce for Kaizer Chiefs, the pressure and backlash are felt more than ever before under co-coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef.
The two co-coaches, formerly assistants to Nasreddine Nabi, who left last October, took charge of a big club for the first time in their careers.
According to Khune, who lifted three league titles with Amakhosi in 2004/05, 2012/13 and 2014/15, players do not respond well when assistants switch to head coaching.
KAIZER CHIEFS NEED A CLEAR LEADER ON THE BENCH
Khune feels that dressing room leadership hold more weight than people tend to realise. “Chiefs need a recognised head coach,” Khune said via Soccer Laduma. “I remember during my playing days there were times where the coach would be sacked, and the assistants would take over. Some players had no respect for the assistant because an assistant is not like a head coach,” Khune said.
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“A head coach, you’ll find him too serious, and players will be scared of him. Assistants will be more lenient and joking with players. And then as soon as they take over as head coaches or co-coaches, players tend not to take them seriously.”
The Ventersdorp-born legend added to say the challenge is not only about authority but clarity.
The former Bafana Bafana international fears that two voices giving instructions easily confuse football players.
“A team like Kaizer Chiefs should be having a head coach at all times. Not interim or co-coaches, because you don’t know who to take instructions from.
“When the head coach is there, you take instructions from one individual, but when you have two, you don’t know who to listen to, and you get confused as a player,” he explained.
“So I sometimes feel for the players,” the veteran goalkeeper concluded.
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DO YOU AGREE WITH ITUMELENG KHUNE?
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