Nabi: Don’t Criticise My Players

Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has urged fans not to put undue pressure on his players after their defeat to SuperSport United at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday. The coach emphasized that the league is a marathon, not a sprint.

SuperSport avenged their previous loss to Chiefs, with Tashreeq Morris scoring the decisive goal before halftime. This victory secured all three points for SuperSport.

Chiefs had previously defeated Hunt’s side 4-0 last weekend at the same venue in the Carling Knockout Cup, but SuperSport effectively neutralized their attacking threat in this match, packing their defense to stifle Chiefs’ opportunities.

The loss has dropped Chiefs to ninth place in the league table with six points, nine points behind leaders Orlando Pirates, who have a perfect record of five wins from five matches.

Despite the setback, Nabi remains optimistic and believes that there are plenty of matches remaining for Chiefs to turn things around.

“The message to the fans is that we are the first ones who understand their importance because there is no Kaizer Chiefs without those millions of fans,” the coach said.  

“On Saturday, we deeply regret not having given them the three points. But having said that, this is a project we are putting in place. 

“Even last week after the game when we scored four goals and everyone was happy, we said the project is at the beginning and when it is at the beginning, it has its ups and downs.  

“It is through these difficult moments that we need their support because if they are really Kaizer Chiefs fans they need to be fans in good and bad moments. 

“But what we promise them is, nobody is going to relax or sleep until this team gets where it deserves to be.”

Nabi also acknowledged the players’ underperformance: “Another message to the fans, the players know that they didn’t deliver what the fans were expecting.” 

Chiefs will face another challenge on Wednesday when they take on newly promoted Magesi at Peter Mokaba Stadium.

“But in three days, there is another game and we need the fans not to criticize the players, not to put them under them down, we need them to encourage them because this is league, it’s like a marathon,” he added.  

“The league doesn’t finish today. Today was the fourth game (in all competitions) which is 26 left and that is a lot of points to play for. When we have another very important game and we need everyone to be behind the players to push them and they will show their appreciation.”