Unrest at Chiefs as fans want regime change

‘You don’t lose against your arch rivals … you don’t lose in that manner,’ Motaung Jnr told Robert Marawa on 94.7.

Under-fire Kaizer Chiefs may not have played a match this past weekend, but there was still plenty of activity at the Amakhosi Village in Naturena.

Angry Chiefs fans

A group of angry fans turned up on Saturday to protest the continued appointment of co-head coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef.

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Fans told SABC News that they want to see either Pitso Mosimane or Benni McCarthy take up the reins.

“My plea to the team management is to get us Coach Pitso. I think he can be able to turn things around. We are losing weight because of this team,” said one.

“They should try Benni or Pitso. Maybe we can bounce back. Some of us are elders, and we will suffer heart attack because of Chiefs,” added another.

Chiefs initially did respond on Twitter, though bizarrely the post was soon deleted.

“This morning, we received a memo from supporters who marched to the Village. We all cooperated with each other,” read the Chiefs tweet.

“We thank our supporters for sharing their concerns in a peaceful manner. We’ll review and respond to suggestions soon,”

Kaizer Chiefs sporting director Kaizer Motaung Junior has also been outspoken on the issues at the club over the last few days.

Chiefs are currently 14 points behind Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates at the top of the Betway Premiership, on the back of a run of three consecutive league defeats.

They have also been knocked out of the Nedbank Cup and Caf Confederation Cup in a disastrous few weeks for Kaze and Ben Youssef.

Of particular dismay to the fans was the way Chiefs totally capitulated to Pirates in a 3-0 hammering in the Soweto derby on February 28.

“I think there we have to fully take responsibility. You don’t lose against your arch rivals … you don’t lose in that manner,” Motaung Jnr told Robert Marawa on 94.7.

‘Soul-searching conversations’

“We’ve had some very, very deep soul-searching conversations and sit-downs with the players, with the coaches, with ourselves, with the staff in general. We embarrassed ourselves on that day at our home in front of hundreds of thousands and also millions at home.”

On whether the club would hire McCarthy or Mosimane, Motaung Jnr was more reticent.

“Chiefs is a big team. We want the best coaches. We want whether it’s the biggest, the most experienced, the highest quality. That’s exactly what we want. You know, that’s the direction we see ourselves,” he added.

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“You mentioned some top individuals who have achieved tremendous things in their career. But It’s also going to be unfair of me to sit here and talk about coaches when we are sitting here. We have coaches within the team.”