Amakhosi made nine new signings for the 2021/22 season and that resulted in some players seeing few playing opportunities
Former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Josta Dladla thinks it was “always going to be difficult” for Amakhosi following the return of coach Stuart Baxter and new players.
Baxter’s second stint coincided with the end of Chiefs’ Fifa transfer ban, which the club had endured for two transfer windows, and the Briton wasted no time to sign nine new players but results were slow to come.
While some off-season arrivals like Keagan Dolly, Sifiso Hlanti and Phathutshedzo Nange are enjoying some regular game time, but that’s had a negative effect on players who featured under stand-in coach Arthur Zwane at the end of last campaign.
That means the likes of Happy Mashiane, Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, Reeve Frosler and Kearyn Baccus are finding it tough after having some decent playing minutes last season, under both Zwane and Gavin Hunt.
“Coach Baxter and Zwane’s philosophies were totally different. You saw a lot of youngsters Zwane was playing,” Dladla told Goal.
“Now they are not playing after coach Baxter took over. Obviously, you are going to see unhappy faces that are sitting out there.
“They were used to playing but this coach comes and they are not playing.
“And those who are playing would want to prove to the coach that he made the right decision but obviously the results were not going well for him.
“But football is always like that, you can lose a game today but tomorrow you have a chance to come back and redeem yourself.
“With Kaizer Chiefs, it was always going to be difficult for them. They got a lot of new players coming in, big players and some of them coming from overseas.”
Centre-back Daniel Cardoso also recently fell down the pecking order, together with Ramahlwe Mphahlele, as Baxter prefers Austin Dube and Njabulo Ngcobo instead.
Dladla believes the coach is yet to get it right with the new players and it will take time for them to adapt to his playing methods.
“Now you have a new coach who is also trying to bring his philosophy to the players,” continued Dladla.
“The players have to believe in what they get from the coach that it is going to work for them. So the players have to get used to the coach, the coach has to get used to the players.
“So it was always going to take time to get used to each other. The coach has to see who he trusts the most, who has to go out there and fight for him.
“It is only a few players who hit the ground running but with Chiefs, as you see they bought a lot of players, they were going to take time to get used to Baxter’s philosophy.”
After going for four games without winning, Chiefs managed to pick up three points in each of their last two games and now face a stern test to replicate that when they host Stellenbosch on November 2.
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