Former Kaizer Chiefs defender Tsepo Masilela has called for patience with striker Flavio Silva who has been receiving criticism from a section of the club’s fans.
Silva is among the six new players who have been signed by Chiefs and he arrived just in time before their pre-season started.
The Portuguese striker was part of Chiefs’ two-week tour of the Netherlands, where they played five games, but he was not on target, and also got minutes last Saturday as Chiefs played out a goalless draw with Asante Kotoko from Ghana in the Toyota Cup.
Masilela feels Silva could surprise his critics
That has seen the forward harshly judged with some fans feeling he is not good enough for Chiefs even though he is yet to feature in a competitive match but Masilela is calling for patience.
“I would love to see more of him. You know, with a striker like Silva, sometimes you have a bad pre-season, and the least you know, you are banging in goals,” Masilela told SoccerBeat as quoted by FARPost.
“So, we have to be patient with him, you know. He has just joined the team and is new to the club. This is a different league and different team-mates.”
Masilela feels it is unfair to call out Silva when he is just getting used to his new environment at Naturena.
Are Chiefs fans being unfair to the striker?
“You know, everything is different for him. The setup is different. In fairness, we can’t really judge him based on these friendly games he has played. It’s pre-season, and we need to give him some time to settle as well,” he added.
Silva arrived at Chiefs from Indonesian club Persebaya Surabaya where he scored 23 goals last season and there were a lot of expectations on his shoulders.
He has a chance to silence his doubters when Chiefs open their PSL campaign against Stellenbosch FC on Sunday August 10.
