Kaizer Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi has shed light on the reasons behind Yusuf Maart’s inconsistent form and his recent resurgence.
The Tunisian tactician has explained the factors that have contributed to the midfielder’s improved performances.
Nabi was speaking to the media after his side’s disappointing 2-2 draw against Royal AM at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday night. Chiefs had squandered a 2-0 lead in the second-half of the Betway premiership tie.
Among his talking points, he made remarks about the in-form Yusuf Maart, who has done incredibly well in the past two games.
Except for two assists he delivered for Ashley Du Preez’s goals in each match, Maart has somewhat steadied the midfield.
Nabi says Maart’s inconsistency in the previous matches stemmed from the criticism he has been getting from fans.
Despite dropping points against Thwihli Thwahla, Nabi praised Maart’s performances in the last two games, highlighting the captain’s positive impact on the team.
NABI APPLAUDS MAART’S PERFORMANCES IN PAST TWO MATCHES
“Yes, I think this is a problem for confidence, for himself. Yusuf sometimes receives too many attacks. It’s difficult, mentally it’s difficult,” said Nabi after the match.
“I think the last game, and today, it’s not bad. He gave an excellent performance. Today, I think he gave a good performance.”
“I want to see more confidence for himself, and he continues to progress.”
Meanwhile, Nabi expressed his disappointment over the result against the KwaZulu-Natal side.
He felt they controlled the entire game, but their failure to capitalise on numerous scoring opportunities ultimately cost them the victory.
NABI DISAPPOINTED OVER ROYAL AM DRAW
“I think the problem is not tactically because you control 70% or 80% of the game,” added Nabi. “Like today, the opponents start again from half-time good, but immediately we change the positives, and we take more control of the game. We take more control of the game.
“The problem is that if you lose too many opportunities, you give confidence to the opponents.
“And this is a repeat. For that, we talk, we talk, but the problem is in the roots. The problem is in the roots because it’s not like you say, it’s not [something that started] today or yesterday.
“But what do we need? What do we want? We need more opportunities, maybe more mentally, like in the field. In the field, I think we create too many opportunities, and we control the game.
“Okay, some mistakes in defence, bad decisions offensively, yes. But you don’t have another solution; you continue to take more, more, more.”
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