If Chiefs want to bring Baxter back, then they should do it – Middendorp
Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp left the media abruptly after a question about former Amakhosi mentor Stuart Baxter’s availability was raised.
New Maritzburg United head coach Ernst Middendorp (Photo by Gallo Images)
Baxter is now available for any coaching job after he resigned as Bafana Bafana coach and a number of Amakhosi fans have openly made their wishes for him to return to Naturena quite clear.
Asked for his thoughts on this, Middendorp gave a brief answer and walked off.
“If the club has an idea to bring Stuart Baxter then they should do it. Thank you,” he said and walked away.
Middendorp was however happy about how his team showed a fighting spirit in their 3-2 win over Highlands Park at Makhulong Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
“There is still a huge space for improvement despite winning here. But as I said before, the attitude, the character and the competitiveness in the team has to change and we saw that in the second half,” said Middendorp.
READ: Chiefs claim late win over Highlands Park
The Amakhosi mentor was also happy with how his new players fared against Highlands in a tough match and he said he believes they add value to the Amakhosi camp.
Middendorp gave Samir Nurkovic, Lazarous Kambole, Kearyn Baccus and Reeve Frosler their first starts.
“Samir is a fantastic player. Lazarous is a fantastic player. We have however to understand and respect that certain guys like Kearyn Baccus who is a fantastic player (might take longer to adapt). James Kotei, who we haven’t used at the moment, also needs more time. I think he got flattened as he had to play 10 games in 15 days (before joining Amakhosi). He is not in the right frame that we can bring him on at the moment.
“But it is fine, it’s not a one man show on the technical team side and we will need more expertise we can get is needed. All the players are needed. We saw how Dumisani Zuma came on, how Maluleka came on and brought a different flair in certain positions. That is what we have been saying during our six week pre-season that everybody is needed. Everyone has a certain ingredient they bring and that is what makes a good team.”
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