A Kaizer Chiefs coach has explained why he was not fixated on winning the Cup at the weekend, stating the club’s primary goal and focus ahead of the n
A Kaizer Chiefs coach has explained why he was not fixated on winning the Cup at the weekend, stating the club’s primary goal and focus ahead of the new season.
The Glamour Boys clinched the Gauteng leg of the Engen U18 Knockout Challenge after beating Mamelodi Sundowns in the final of the three-day tournament on Sunday at Marks Park in Johannesburg.
But coach Vela Khumalo said the objective is to prepare and develop the players for Amakhosi’s first team, not winning.
“It’s a great feeling to win, but what is important for us is the minutes and hours we need for a player to be properly developed,” Khumalo told Amakhosi’s media team.
“The standard of the game was quite high, but our standard is a bit higher because our boys are exposed to tough competition as some of them play in the DStv Diski Challenge, even though they are under 18. To show our strength, we didn’t even concede many goals because we were able to deal with the opposition.
“Look, we had some under-17 players who will now be considered for the Reserve Team. We didn’t even play Mduduzi Shabalala, who still qualifies for the competition, but we let him stay with the senior team,” added the Amakhosi coach.
The Soweto giants will come up against other provincial winners in the Champ of Champs later in the year for the national title of the Engen Knockout Challenge. The national winner will go overseas to represent South Africa.
Chiefs reserves will open their season in the quarterfinals of the DStv Diski Shield against SuperSport United reserves on Saturday.
COMMENTS