Kaizer Chiefs captain Brandon Petersen has explained how they have been adapting to the tactical tweaks following the departure of Nasreddine Nabi.
The Soweto giants are now under co-coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef, who took over from the Tunisian-Belgian most recently. Under the duo, Amakhosi have been struggling for consistency and have not registered a victory in their last three games.
During that period, they have also bowed out of the Carling Knockout Cup, leaving them with the Betway Premiership, Nedbank Cup and the CAF Confederation Cup to play for this season.
Glaring in the winless run is failing to score, despite having a squad with seven strikers. However, their defence has been solid by keeping clean sheets despite victory eluding them.
Although Kaze and Ben Youssef were working under Nabi as assistants, they warmed up to his systems, but they are now on their own as co-coaches. Following a pre-season built around Nabi’s methods, Amakhosi have had to readjust under the new technical team set-up.
CHIEFS SMOOTHLY ADJUSTING UNDER KAZE AND BEN YOUSSEF
Petersen has hailed the squad’s versatility as having made the transition smoother.
“Obviously, in pre-season, you try different formations and systems depending on personnel. We started with most of the formations we played during pre-season, knowing that at some point we might need to use those formations,” the Amakhosi goalkeeper responded to FARPost.
“I think the guys understand the roles and responsibilities within different systems and structures. So, I think at the end of the day, in every game you play, you know it has its challenges and stumbling blocks.
“For us, it’s the ability to be able to switch between formations, to try and catch our opponents off guard. Also, the players we have available, we feel a certain system might work in that specific game and I think the players have done fairly well.”
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