Kaizer Chiefs might have started the 2022-2023 DStv Premiership season with a 1-0 loss to Royal AM on Saturday, but coach Arthur Zwane remains calm, insisting it is early to press the panic button.
Zwane said the league is not like a sprint but a marathon; hence the Glamour Boys would dust themselves off and get their campaign back on track.
“We still have 29 league games to play and there are also cup games. It’s one season where people will get to know us,” Zwane told the media in a post-match interview.
“I’m not even worried about that [the loss]. Come in the second round, they [Royal] won’t come back with points from the FNB [Stadium.”
Zwane, who stepped in the big shoes of Stuart Baxter who was sacked towards the end of last season, is aware that in life as in coaching, there are no job guarantees.
“Once you are a coach and you fear losing your job, don’t even try coaching in the PSL. I’m telling you now. We’re rebuilding this team, and we’re on the right track. We will win some games, and we will win with flair,” he added.
Despite the coach’s optimism, the defeat did enough to dampen the positive mood which was prevalent around Naturena in the build-up to the season’s opener.
Before the beginning of the season, the mood in Chiefs’ camp was so positive and this even rubbed off on their supporters who felt their seven-year trophy drought would finally come to an end.
Such a positive vibe was evident in video clips of Chiefs senior and development sides coming together showing unity and having a family day with their supporters at FNB Stadium. Love and peace spread through the gold and black again.
Therefore, much was expected from the Soweto giants as they started off on a trip to the Zulu Kingdom to face Royal AM at a fully-packed Chatsworth Stadium on Saturday.
Of course, nobody said it was going to be easy for Amakhosi facing Royal AM who are increasingly becoming their bogy team.
When the game started, the Glamour Boys entertained their supporters with a good brand of attacking football that brought back hope. Unfortunately, it was Royal AM who emerged the winners.
Starting the season with a loss is always not a good thing, especially if a team wants to mount a serious challenge on otherwise invincible holders Mamelodi Sundowns, who have won the league title five times on the spin.
You can, therefore, understand why some Chiefs fans are fearing for the worst to come.
However, if the optimism of coach Arthur Zwane is anything to go by, maybe the good old days are indeed around the corner for the Amakhosi family!
RELATED STORY: Truter bemoans ex-Chiefs player absence
