Kaizer Chiefs midfielder told to shape up or ship out

Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Siphelele Ntshangase has been told that he needs to shape up or he will see his career go up in smoke.

READ MORE: Middendorp stands by team selection after miraculous Kaizer Chiefs comeback.

The highly rated midfielder has been out in the cold at Amakhosi since the arrival of Ernst Middendorp, who made it clear that “Stash”, as Ntshangase is affectionately known, is not part of his plans.

“George Maluleka has left the team and the coach went for a development player to fill that void instead of playing “Stash”. He has to take this as a wake-up call or else he will continue to be a spectator and before he knows it, Chiefs will discard him and that will be the end of his career – he has to find a way to please the coach,” said a source.

Middendorp has clearly not been a fan of Ntshangase since he took over as head coach at the start of the 2018/19 season.

“I don’t think Ntshangase is close to breaking into the starting team. He likes to pass, pass, pass, pass and then pass again. It looks nice but I’m sorry, football is about goals and results,” Middendorp told SAfm back in September.

At the time, Chiefs football manager Bobby Motaung said Amakhosi would be talking with Middendorp about how he handles Ntshangase.

“Issues of how he handles the media, obviously we do have discussions with them but coaches are emotional,” Motaung said, according to kickoff.com.

“Sometimes the response comes from the challenges they are faced with, so it’s normal. If you go to Europe and everywhere, coaches have got their way of responding to things.”

Ntshangase did play 20 times for Chiefs in all competitions last season, but has not played at all for them this season, and it does not look any better for him even following the departure of Maluleka for Mamelodi Sundowns, with Middendorp prefering youngster Nkosingiphile Ngcobo.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.