Former Kaizer Chiefs striker Bernard Parker reflects on successful first season in coaching

Former Kaizer Chiefs forward Bernard Parker has expressed his satisfaction with TS Galaxy’s overall performance during the 2024/25 season, which marked his debut campaign as an assistant coach at senior level and as head coach of the club’s DStv Diski Challenge (DDC) team. 

As he transitions from a celebrated playing career into coaching, Parker says he's proud of the strides his teams have made, even amidst early difficulties.

Speaking about the season, the 39-year-old admitted that adapting to professional coaching was initially challenging, despite having prior experience at lower levels.

“It was quite tough for me at first to put the team together because, although I had done coaching at a grassroots level, this was my first official season in professional coaching,” he explained.

Parker holds a unique dual role with the Rockets, acting as a vital link between the club’s DDC side and the senior team. 

A growing number of Premier Soccer League (PSL) clubs are turning to their development ranks to promote emerging talent from within their youth systems. 

TS Galaxy has aligned itself with this approach by outsourcing as they recently confirmed the acquisition of Kaizer Chiefs DDC captain Ntandoyenkosi Nkosi. 

He becomes the latest young prospect to make the switch from Amakhosi to the Rockets, following the path taken by Puso Dithejane and Khulimane Ndamane before him.

Earlier in the campaign, Galaxy had found themselves in a difficult position following the departure of head coach Sead Ramovic after a string of unsatisfactory results. 

However, the club regained its footing under the joint leadership of Parker and Bosnian tactician Adnan Beganovic. The duo successfully steered the Rockets into a top-eight finish, narrowly missing out on CAF Confederations qualification.

Reflecting on the season's beginning, Parker attributed the team's slow start to the loss of key players, which disrupted their rhythm and made it difficult to build momentum. 

“It was a bit of a challenge to maintain balance after we lost some important players early in the season,” Parker said.

“We had to find replacements who could match the quality we had before, in order to carry forward from where we left off last season.”

The former striker also emphasized the importance of alignment between the senior team and the  DDC side, noting that both outfits are expected to mirror each other in terms of formations, playing style, and training methods.

“Everything the senior team does must be mirrored by the DDC side — the systems, the formations, even the training sessions.”

Despite coming close to qualifying for the CAF Confederation Cup, a late-season dip in form dashed those hopes. Nonetheless, Parker remains optimistic, and he believes the squad has the potential to reach even greater heights. 

“Missing out on the Confederation Cup was disappointing because in our last six games, we had opportunities to collect more points,” he said.

“The team is capable of fighting for a CAF spot. What we now need is to sharpen the players' mental readiness. 

“If we can perfect the mindset and get the players in the right frame before matches, we’ll be unstoppable next season.”

The work put in by players like Mlungisi Mbunjana helped Parker's side make the Top8 cut.