The festive season is officially behind us, and it’s now time for a new start and working on those New Year’s resolutions!
But perhaps there’s no coach in the Betway Premiership who’ll need to work harder on his team’s fortunes like Kaizer Chiefs’ tactician Nasreddine Nabi.
The Tunisia-born coach was roped into the club this season to rebuild the team and bring back the glory days following a 10-year trophy drought.
And given the club’s calibre, Nabi was expected to hit the ground running and hit two birds with one stone in the club’s mandate.
But boy, that hasn’t been the case. Sure, there’ve been signs of improvement, with youngsters, especially Mduduzi Shabalala growing in leaps and bounds, but results have been inconsistent.
The fluctuation of results have frustrated the fans as some have been hooligans, targeting the team and referees. A feat that has led to numerous fines from the PSL DC.
The media has been caught on the web too. Nabi accused journalists of igniting the fans' expectations of winning games, instead of him rebuilding the team and trusting the process.
Nabi has, however, also acknowledged that the team needs a serious revamp with quality players. He even asked for those players from the management as a “festive season gift”.
So, with the January transfer window now open, Nabi could get some of his wishes. But he importantly needs to ensure that the team beef up their striking department.
Sure, Chiefs have been porous in defence – having recently kept their first clean sheet in the league in the 1-0 win over Chippa United – but they’ve been blunt in the in front of goal as well.
Striking duo Ranga Chivaviro and Ashley Du Preez have struggled. As a result, they’ve been victims of the boo-boys – at times needing the rescue of Nabi.
But with the New Year all about a new beginning, the 59-year-old coach will hope that they can hit the ground running, starting with their league match away to Cape Town City on Sunday.
City are also hoping to turn over a new leaf as well following the appointment of Muhsin Ertugral as the new coach and technical director on Thursday after the sacking of Eric Tinkler.
Tinkler had an underwhelming start to the season, missing out on two trophies – the Nedbank Cup and MTN8 – while they are 12th on the log table.
The Citizens have won only three games in the league, drawn two and lost five. And that was a dismissal offence given that City once finished second.
Ertugral, who'll be at the helm until the end of the season, will start his rescue mission against his former team on Sunday if he gets his work permit in time. And he’ll hope to start on a high note.
After all, City doesn’t lack depth. The club broke the bank in winter, bolstering the team with quality, including Haashim Domingo, Kamohelo Mokotjo and Fortune Makaringe.
Club chairman John Comitis has stressed the importance of the club being a top four team – competing with the big three especially for major trophies.
And with the Nedbank Cup still to play for, they’ll be gunning for it this year. In Ertugral, they have someone who knows how to win trophies. But the time to work on the New Year’s resolution is tomorrow.
Meanwhile, AmaZulu coaching duo Arthur Zwane and Vusumuzi Vilakazi will be eager to continue with their purple patch when they face Golden Arrows in the KZN derby on Saturday afternoon.