Kaizer Chiefs fans have been wondering if Stuart Baxter is the right coach for their team with some indifferent results this season.
Given that Chiefs missed out on the MTN8 title earlier this campaign and with the league appearing to be out of reach as runaway leaders Mamelodi Sundowns are 19 points ahead, Amakhosi’s trophy drought looks set to continue following their shock exit in the Nedbank Cup at the weekend.
They suffered a 1-0 defeat against TS Galaxy at FNB Stadium, and Baxter, under scrutiny, took time to outline his goals and vision for the club.
“That trophy [Nedbank Cup] disappeared. We’ve got to do the best we can now in the league to finish as high as we can, and then we have to try marrying the short-term goal of winning a game or two with the long-term goals of building the squad, becoming that solid team,” said Baxter.
“The long-term goal is balancing the squad, buying and selling the players, bringing through some kids and finding a way to get all our better players on the field. All of that is a bit more medium to long term. The cup is short-term, so we didn’t want to throw that chance away.
“No one is happy with the performance. It’s a cup we didn’t win, and now we have to show in the league that we are building something that can lead to something next season,” added Baxter.
The Englishman is the last tactician to win a trophy at Chiefs in 2015, but the going is seemingly getting tough for the man that won four trophies in his first stint [three years] at the club.
“We don’t want to be a one-season building team and then rip the house down and then start building again every season, which is a little bit of a curse of one of the bigger clubs,” explained the Chiefs coach.
“Take Manchester United; they’ve done that for the last five or six years – maybe that is something that Chiefs have also been guilty of that we keep going for one good year and then start again.
“We (have) to marry the short-term goals with the medium and long-term goals. And that’s not easy when you are at a club like Chiefs with demands.
