Former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Willard Katsande has shared his thoughts on the timeline for the Amakhosi faithful to expect a league title from Nasreddine Nabi.
The Tunisian tactician was brought on board to restore the club’s fortunes with Chiefs having not won any silverware since 2016.
With a proven track record in trophy acquisition, Nabi comes with high expectations. Prior to his stint with AS FAR [Morroco], he won a double treble with Young Africans of Tanzania.
Last season at AS FAR, he narrowly missed out on the league title to Raja Casablanca, finishing just one point behind. Raja maintained an unbeaten record throughout the season.
Chiefs last won the league under Stuart Baxter in the 2014/15 campaign, a season where they also won the MTN8 trophy beating Orlando Pirates in the final.
Katsande, who won two league titles with the Soweto giants, has called on the Phefeni Glamour supporters to throw their weights behind Nabi as he undertakes the task of rebuilding the team.
He believes it would be reasonable to expect a league title only after the coach has had four transfer windows to build a formidable team.
WILLARD KATSANDE HOPING FOR CAF CC QUALIFICATION & A CUP THIS SEASON FROM NABI
“For me, I’m one hundred per cent positive, even from the beginning when they hired the coach,” said Katsande.
“The most important thing…I’m talking as a supporter. You need to respect what the management has done, which is to appoint the coach. We just need to support whatever we have. This is the generation that will take us where we [want to go].
“I’m one hundred per cent confident that the coach is going to do well, and even the new players who came in and those who have been there for a long time are also going to contribute [to Chiefs’ success].
“The most important thing for us as supporters and football lovers is we need to be patient with the coach because football is a project whereby it’s not overnight. Maybe for some coaches, the philosophy starts rubbing on players after six months. Some hit the ground running as quickly as possible.”
Katsande added: “But the most important thing is, can we see the positive out of everything we are trying to do? The coach needs at least four transfer windows for us to say ‘compete to win the league’.
“If we have a fantastic season and can try to qualify for [the CAF] Confederation Cup this season and grab a trophy to redeem ourselves again.
“We’ve been talking, ‘this is our season, it’s going to be fine’, but now we just need to push and win something.”
RELATED STORY: Ranga Chivaviro’s talk with Nabi fuel hope for a resurgent season
