How chopping and changing of coaches affected Sithebe at Chiefs

Richards Bay FC midfielder Siyethemba Sithebe has explained how the constant changes in coaches affected him during his time at Kaizer Chiefs.

The 31-year-old joined Amakhosi from AmaZulu FC at the start of the 2022/23 season, having made over 100 appearances for Usuthu. Despite arriving as a high-profile signing, Sithebe struggled to replicate his impressive form from his previous club.

Injuries and a lack of consistent playing time contributed to his difficulties. However, the midfielder has now pinpointed the frequent changes in coaching personnel as the biggest obstacle.

During Sithebe’s time at Chiefs, the club saw Arthur Zwane, Molefi Ntseki, and Cavin Johnson take charge. Zwane led the team in the 2022/23 season, while Ntseki was at the helm for the majority of the following campaign.

Ntseki was eventually dismissed from his role, and Johnson was appointed as interim coach. Sithebe says the coaching instability had a significant impact on his spell at the Soweto giants.

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“I would say that there are things that confuse players because there are different tactics from different coaches,” Sithebe said when asked by FARPost about playing under different coaches at Chiefs.

“So, according to me, the style of play won’t suit every player, even the players who are playing when a new coach arrives. There’ll be changes. I can say that those things affect players and who they were before the new coach arrived.

“Sometimes you’ll find that players who were not playing are starting to play, and those that were playing are no longer playing. So, such things happen in football.

“From my side also, in my first season, I played enough games, and I’m coming into a big team with a lot of competition, so I can say playing more than 20 games in the first season was good for me.

“In the second season, I was mostly affected by injuries, and in that way, I couldn’t get game-time. I had a two-year contract, and when the season ended, it was not renewed.”

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