Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi certainly has no margins for error next season after a poor first campaign in charge of the Glamour Boys.
Nabi oversaw one of the club’s worst league runs as his team ended up finishing ninth in the just-concluded season, missing out on the top eight for a second successive season, having ended up 10th in 2023-24.
That put Nabi’s position under scrutiny although a Nedbank Cup win, which ended Chiefs’ 10-year trophy drought, seems to have bought him some time as there were reports that the club had decided to sack him.
Motaung vows to make hard decisions
However, the Chiefs hierarchy appear not ready to stomach another disappointing campaign even after saying a number of times that they are in the rebuilding phase and has vowed to “make the hard decisions” if that is what it will take to bring success.
“Ninth and tenth place is not great for us and that is part of the difficult conversation that we had to have,” Chiefs Marketing and Commercial Director Jessica Motaung said as per Soccer Laduma.
“We cannot find ourselves there again. So, definitely the vision has always been to ascend and take our rightful place in South African and African football. The vision is there, and the work is being done behind the scenes, and we will even make the hard decisions to make sure we get there,” she added.
Will coach Nabi see out his Chiefs contract?
That appears to be a warning that another season of struggle will not be tolerated even though the club is trying to bring in players that will help Nabi change their fortunes.
Nabi signed a two-year contract when he joined last July, with Chiefs having an option to extend for a further year, and after surviving the sack, he might not see out his deal unless there is a quick turnaround.
Chiefs do not hesitate to change coaches midseason as witnessed in 2023-24 when they went through three tacticians although they still endured their worst ever placing on the table.
