Nabi Remains Optimistic Despite Yanga Thrashing
Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi remains optimistic about changing the club’s fortunes despite a 4-0 drubbing to Tanzanian giants Young Africans SC in the inaugural Toyota Cup on Sunday in Bloemfontein.
The encounter marked the first time the Soweto giants took the field in public under the tutelage of the new mentor, with the club believed to have taken part in several behind-closed-doors friendly matches in their pre-season camp in Turkey.
However, though a heavy defeat marred his highly anticipated first match in the dugout of a packed stadium, the Tunisian-born tactician insists there are some positives to take from the demoralizing result.
“Today [Sunday] is a friendly game, please guys it’s a friendly game,” Nabi said. “For people who know football and the vision for friendly games, [the result] is not very important. Okay, I don’t want a losing mentality.
“The game on Sunday has helped me too much, why? Because it has allowed me the opportunity to know exactly about my players collectively and individually. “I’m not happy when I lose any games because I have a winning mentality and character, I don’t just accept losing,” he continued.
“We observed some positive points. It’s not my problem if people don’t understand football and they won’t sleep because the team lost a friendly game, but I know which negatives I need to change and what are the positives. That was the objective for today’s game.”
With Chiefs coming off the back of a 10th-place finish in the league – their worst in the history of the PSL and an extending nine-year trophy drought, the 58-year-old coach has vowed to build a strong team and has urged the supporters to be patient.
“We would like to thank them [supporters] for their support and warm welcome. We will build a solid team, there is a strong intention just like we did with Young Africans a few years ago, we want to repeat it in South Africa with Kaizer Chiefs. So, we are asking for patience and continuous support, “Nabi concluded through a translator.
Article by Trevor Magoro
