Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi shocked many on Tuesday night when he subbed winger Pule Mmodi after 37 minutes.
The 31-year-old had just assisted Glody Lilepo a couple of minutes earlier to reduce the deficit and make the scoreline 2-1. Mduduzi Shabalala replaced him as the Glamour Boys went to lose the game 4-1 which is their heaviest defeat in the league this season.
SuperSport United scored their goals through Samir Nurkovic, Christian Saile, Gamphani Jones Lungu and Siphesihle Ndlovu.
The Tunisian has now justified his action, insisting Mmodi was not at his best. He argues about seven or so players were not physically fit for the game and if he had his way, he could have subbed them.
Most of Kaizer Chiefs players were not in the game – Nabi
“It was not necessarily a tactical change,” Nabi said when asked what prompted him to make an early sub.
“We noticed that most of the players were not in the game. If I had the chance to substitute six or seven players, I could have done it. I could see that Mmodi has given a lot in the previous game and today already in the early minutes I could see that he was not in the game and he was tired.
“But as I said, if I could change six or seven players, I would’ve done so,” Nabi concluded.
The result took the Swanky Boys to 20 points from 18 games, five points less than Chiefs who are sixth on the table, six places higher than Gavin Hunt's men. The next game for Soweto giants will be on March 1 against defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
