Arthur Zwane is unfazed by prospects of getting the axe at Kaizer Chiefs after a poor first season as head coach.
But following what happened last week at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Zwane knows his hourglass is running out at the Soweto giants.
Amakhosi fans attacked coach Zwane following their 1-0 loss to SuperSport United in a DStv Premiership a week ago, and he had to be escorted by the police to the tunnel for his safety.
The defeat at Royal Bafokeng was followed by another loss at FNB Stadium when the Soweto giants succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to Cape Town City on Saturday afternoon.
‘10111’, as he’s popularly known within football circles, reckons that he’s not frightened by the axe after a 1-0 defeat to the Citizens at home.
The defeat left Chiefs in fifth place on the log standings with 44 points from 30 matches.
ARTHUR ZWANE: ‘IN FOOTBALL YOU DEVELOP A THICK SKIN’
The 49-year-old mentor went on to say that one needs to develop a thick skin in order to survive. He insists that he’s not the first coach to be in this situation.
“Look, I’m one person who is a believer and hard worker. If there’s one thing that football has taught me is that never be in the game if you don’t have a big heart. In football you develop a thick skin,” said Zwane in a post-match interview.
“I’m not the first one that has been in this situation. I have seen coaches struggling in their first season and they come up different the following season.”
‘IT WAS MORE OF A LEARNING SEASON’
Zwane further stated that this was more of a “learning season”. And he hopes things will improve for the better, as he has an idea of what to do next.
“For me, it was more like a learning season for a fact that I’m now the head coach, making decisions obviously with the help of other technical team members,” he added.
“But, I have always been supporting the team. Supporting other coaches who have been here before. This time around I had to do things the way I thought it would help the team.
“As much as it was a learning season but it was a very productive one. But in terms of learning things that I know we should have done this or done that.”
Zwane continued: “That’s the only way when you do self introspection you always know this is what we should have done here. And what we can do going forward in terms of players that should come in.
“Now, for example, you learn maybe this one has got talent but doesn’t have the character. So now we look for character more than the talent. For Kaizer Chiefs, you need players that can dig deeper. This is because other teams triple their efforts when they play against Chiefs.”
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