Chiefs have been up and down in Baxter’s second spell at the club. After weeks of presenting a positive front, Baxter finally conceded that they’ve lost out on the title to the four-time champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
KAIZER Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter says clubs need balanced squads to ensure that they churn out positive results week in and week out.
This week, SuperSport United coach Kaitano Tembo became the latest casualty of the season ‒ he was released by the club following a string of poor results.
However, some feel that Tembo was sabotaged by the management after senior players left the club – including former captains Dean Furman and Clayton Daniels – and were not replaced by equally experienced campaigners.
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That forced Tembo to use youngsters. Some, such as Jamie Webber, Luke Fleurs and Jesse Donn, took the responsibility. However, others such as Thalente Mbatha, Gapo Moralo and Keagan Johannes blew hot and cold.
SuperSport, who are eighth on the log standings with 31 points – one ahead of ninth-placed Golden Arrows – will start life without Tembo against Chiefs at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.
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His former assistant, André Arendse, has succeeded him on an interim basis.
Having worked with Tembo as his assistant at the Tshwane club before, Baxter feels that it was unfair of the club to expect the former to develop players while continuing to be competitive on all fronts.
“You are just talking about a coach that has just been sacked. Whether you are talking about the policy of selecting youngsters for development, then it needs to be backed by the club,” Baxter said yesterday.
“Development then takes the place of winning games. It’s a utopia if anybody thinks that you can throw in as many youngsters and then in some way, the winning energy develops.
“There’s got to be a balance.”
Baxter has also come under criticism for overlooking youngsters, such as Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, this season. But the British mentor said they are looking to integrate more players into the team going forward.
Wednesday morning's training session in preparation for Saturday's #DStvPrem clash against SuperSport United #Amakhosi4Life pic.twitter.com/hkXVCA8VQq
— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) April 13, 2022
“We’ve been discussing that. It’s been a hot topic here at the club. We certainly want to be profiling some young players, and whenever we think it’s possible, we are definitely going to be doing that (throw them in the deep end),” Baxter said.
While sticking with the more experienced players, Chiefs have been up and down in Baxter’s second spell at the club. After weeks of presenting a positive front, Baxter finally conceded that they’ve lost out on the title to the four-time champions Mamelodi Sundowns, whom they trail by 18 points.
“We’ve completely blown our chances of putting a great pressure on Sundowns. They’ve done a fantastic job this year. I think the rest of us are playing for the following places,” Baxter said.
