Kaze Addresses His Kaizer Chiefs Future

Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Cedric Kaze says he has not met his own expectations regarding where he wants the club to be, admitting that his personal target was to have Amakhosi sitting top of the league. He also acknowledged that he is aware the club would have received more than 100 CVs.

Kaze was addressing questions about his future with four months remaining in the season.

Kaze, along with Khalil Ben Youssef, was appointed as co-coach until the end of the season following the departure of Nasreddine Nabi in October.

The duo had already overseen the team’s opening three matches of the campaign, guiding Chiefs to victories over Stellenbosch, Polokwane City and Richards Bay. At the time, Nabi was in Tunisia after his wife was involved in a car accident.

Since taking charge, Kaze and Ben Youssef have guided Chiefs to second place on the log with 30 points from 15 matches, just two points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.

Amakhosi are also competing in the CAF Confederation Cup group stage and will face Zambian side ZESCO United in a Group D encounter at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday (15:00).

Asked by Sportswire whether strong results could make it difficult for Chiefs management not to appoint a new coach ahead of next season, Kaze said he is fully aware of the high demand for the Kaizer Chiefs job.

“For me, personally, when I assess myself, I wouldn’t say I am exactly where I want to be,” said Kaze.

“I haven’t met the objectives I should have met because, in my view, we should be number one on the log. That means I’m a little bit behind what I expect from myself.

“On the other hand, a team like Kaizer Chiefs is a big brand. Every coach in the world dreams of coaching Kaizer Chiefs.”

Last season, Kaze and Ben Youssef also stepped in during Nabi’s suspension, securing wins over Sekhukhune United in the league in Durban and Free Agents in the Nedbank Cup round of 32, before suffering a Soweto Derby defeat to Orlando Pirates.

With Chiefs now on 30 points, the co-coaches are already just two points shy of the club’s total from last season, when they finished on 32 points.

“I’m pretty sure they have received more than 100 CVs,” Kaze added.

“We are here today working for the biggest club in South Africa, and it’s an honour for me and Khalil. Our only objective is to do our best to leave the club in a better place than we found it.

“I’m not worried about next season. Right now, I’m only focused on Sunday’s game.”