Arthur Zwane to stick to his guns on Chiefs’ youngsters ahead of Sundowns showdown
Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane did not beat around the bush as he made it clear that he will continue to show faith in the club’s youngsters, remembering the adage: ‘The future belongs to young people’.
Zwane, sticking to his guns, says throwing Amakhosi’s youngsters in the deep end is all part of the rebuilding process, with the plan to build a team around them.
The Chiefs coach is convinced that youngsters need to be part and parcel of the technical team’s plans for the club to reclaim its glory days.
Chiefs’ matchday squad that suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat in the DStv Premiership against AmaZulu last Friday, 13 January, in Durban was made up of some inexperienced players who are graduates from the Soweto giants academy.
Zwane was heavily criticised for starting with young players such as Mduduzi Shabalala and Samkelo Zwane, and Happy Mashiane, who had last featured for the club in August 2022. In addition, Wandile Duba and Sabelo Radebe were on the bench.
Young centre-back Aden McCarthy and 20-year-old goalkeeper Bontle Molefe were spotted training with Chiefs’ first team on Thursday, 19 January, as the club prepares for the Mamelodi Sundowns league clash on Saturday, 21 January.
WHY ARTHUR ZWANE WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY YOUNGSTERS
“Look, football is a game of opportunities, and we have our senior players who are not available for the Sundowns game, and some of them haven’t been available due to injuries and unforeseen circumstances,” said Zwane at Naturena.
“We had to give the young guns the opportunity to express themselves and showcase their talent, and some of them, they did grab the opportunity with both hands, and we have to continue where we left off with them because, at the end of the day, it is about the future of this club.
“And if we are not going to give these youngsters an opportunity to play, when are we going to give them the opportunity? So, as I said, some of them have done well so far and because we are thinking about the future of the club.”
Although Zwane admitted that Chiefs’ display this season has left a lot to be desired, he says he remains positive and believes the revamp will bear fruit in due time.
ZWANE CONFIDENT CHIEFS WILL COME RIGHT
Chiefs were knocked out of the MTN8 in the semifinal stage by AmaZulu and are currently in fourth place on the log standings, 19 points adrift of table toppers Sundowns after 16 games with seven wins, three draws and six defeats.
“We’re also thinking about what we can do in the future. We are in a re-building phase, trying to build a way of playing,” added Zwane.
“As much as the results are fluctuating, I have seen a lot of positive things that have come out of what we have been doing since the beginning of the season.
“And at some point, we will pay the price when we play with the youngsters in terms of the mistakes they will commit; the game is the teacher, and most of them are improving, and the more they play, the more they gain experience.”
Many believe that Zwane and his troops stand no chance of beating Sundowns, who have won 11 games in a row to open a 14-point lead at the top.
And with everyone seemingly, writing Amakhosi off after back-to-back losses against Sekhukhune United and Usuthu, Chiefs have in the past pulled off surprises when least expected.
It is worth noting that in the previous campaign, Amakhosi were the only team to give Sundowns a taste of defeat in the league.
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