Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur “10111” Zwane has revealed that the pressure of playing for Amakhosi is so intense that players sometimes fake injuries when crunch time comes.
Chiefs players and the coach are under immense pressure after a rather hot and cold start to their season.
Zwane was speaking ahead of Chiefs’ MTN8 quarterfinal match against Stellenbosch FC at the Danie Craven Stadium in Cape Town on Sunday afternoon.
He was responding to a question about how Chiefs players are dealing with the pressure of not winning a trophy since 2015.
“We have done a lot of induction and we also do a lot of one-on-one in trying to help the players settle, especially those who are new to the set up. We want to change the mentality and try to help them and to see where they are. They must also have individual goals,” said Zwane.
“At the end of the day, some of the players will respond. Some respond quicker and for some it will take time. So, for players, when the going gets tough, they will hide, some will think maybe they are not good enough to be here. And when they find themselves in these situations, they fake injuries. It’s not for the first time, it has been happening for many years, even when I was still a player – good players would come to Chiefs and some of them would fake injuries and some would choose games,” Zwane added.
“That is the mentality that we are trying to do away with and so far, we have assembled a very good squad of young players and senior players, we have got the balance… and the only thing is to do things the right way. The players are positive and we are not going to start shaking because we are not getting the results, the results will come,” he said.
In the five league matches that Chiefs have played so far this season, they have won two and lost three. They are lying in position number nine in the PSL table. Zwane does not have much time to change the mentality of the players so will need to turn things around pretty quickly.
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