Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi acknowledges that a lot of pressure has been put on Mduduzi Shabalala to carry the team. BackpagePix
Kaizer Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi has reflected on what has been a turbulent first five months with the club.
Amakhosi closed off the year with a highly competitive win over Chippa United in Durban on Sunday, ending a run of three games without a win.
The Naturena-based club has seen an expected fluctuation in results over recent months as they look to re-establish themselves as trophy challengers under Nabi.
The Tunisian-born coach was handed the ropes at the start of the season and has seemingly been backed to a certain degree in the transfer market.
Nabi has taken charge of 12 games at the club in all competitions and has won five, drawn three and lost four and currently occupy seventh place in the Betway Premiership standings.
When asked to summarise the hardship he and his technical team have experienced so far, Nabi listed three key elements that have influenced performances and results.
“At the beginning of the league, the quality was better than the last three games but there’s an explanation for that when you play young players, the inconsistency is normal,” he said.
“The second thing is we have been having a lot of injuries that have been affecting our performances on the field as well as our results which has brought on so much pressure on the players, coaches and the club and sometimes you can see it because they play with the handbrake up, with the fear to not lose rather than playing to win games.”
While a solitary striker by Mduduzi Shabalala on the stroke of halftime was enough to get the result against the Chilli Boys, Nabi still felt his side’s second-half showing was a nervous wreck.
“I believe before the goal there were two opportunities created. At half-time, we told the players they needed to keep pushing to try and score the second. It felt like when someone is driving a car and has a handbrake on, maybe it's because a few games have been tough and the players need to try hard to get out of that state. But we retain the three points and build from that,'' added Nabi.
Nabi has trusted Shabalala more than most academy players since arriving at the club and has helped the 20-year-old record six-goal involvements in the 12 games he has played so far.
While he has been pleased with Shabalala’s progress, he lamented the pressure on the youngster’s shoulders at the Soweto giants and urged more consistency as a point to improve on.
'“Shabalala has been good, not consistent but we feel that he carries a lot of responsibility on his shoulders for such a big team like Kaizer Chiefs,” said nabi.
“This would sometimes put a lot of pressure on him, that's why sometimes he is good, sometimes he's very good. But he is still young and I want to congratulate him for being at a consistent level so far. We feel that other youngsters should learn from him.”