OPNION: Nabi needs to hit the ground running

Although the appointment of Nasreddine Nabi has been met with optimism by Kaizer Chiefs fans, I think we all know how fickle they can be if things don’t go according to plan. Time is not a luxury that Nabi has as far as the Amakhosi project is concerned.

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He simply needs to hit the ground running if he wants to endear himself to the millions of Chiefs fans. The high turnover of coaches in the past nine years is a big concern for me and needs to be nipped in the bud.

Patience should be the key word for the new-look technical team as they attempt to build a competitive side that is able to go toe-to-toe with Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates because the rinse and repeat cycle of sacking coaches is not the answer.

The 2023-2024 season started with so much promise when Molefi Ntseki was given the coaching reins to replace Arthur Zwane who was also a popular appointment amongst the impatient Chiefs fan base who turned on him when results were not forthcoming.

At some point, the Chiefs management needs to also stick to its guns and not bend over backwards for their supporters otherwise the merry-go-round will continue. Since Stuart Baxter won a league and cup double in the 2014-2015 season, as many as eight coaches have been shown the door at the Soweto giants including Baxter who was back for an ill-fated second spell.

The hiring and firing is a recipe for disaster if you ask me and it has contributed to the club’s 9-year trophy drought. Nabi has proven himself at Tanzanian club Young Africans with two back-to-back league titles. However, he will need time to turn The Phefeni Glamour Boys into cup specialists again and that won’t happen overnight.

Sporting Director Kaizer Motaung Jr needs to see out this project and stick by the new coach even at the first sign of discontent from the club’s supporters. It wouldn’t make sense to break the bank and assemble a foreign technical team only to make a U-turn halfway through the journey.

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Can Nabi succeed where Steve Komphela, Giovanni Solinas, Ernst Middendorp, Gavin Hunt, Baxter, Zwane, Ntseki and Cavin Johnson have failed? Only time will tell if the Tunisian has what it takes to bring back the glory days.