Solinas was ‘not first choice’ to succeed Komphela at Chiefs

Kaizer Chiefs chairman Kaizer Motaung has admitted that coach Giovanni Solinas was not the first choice to succeed Steve Komphela at the Naturena-based club.

With Chiefs yet to win in the Absa Premiership after five outings this season, Solinas has come under intense scrutiny.

Motaung admitted that they had to settle on Solinas after they failed to acquire their first choice targets.

“No‚ he (Solinas) wasn’t top of the list‚ I must confess‚” said Motaung.

“It’s not so easy to get top coaches in the continent because we also have to compete with the Arab countries.

“I can tell you there are two coaches who could have come here.

“We missed the first one after two days when we had come to an agreement. He had to leave the country after being offered a job in Qatar.

“We’re talking big dollars there and we can’t compete.”

Though Solinas has failed to register a win the league so far this season, Motaung said his team has improved under Solinas compared to last season.

“He’s got a good work ethic and I’ve looked at his performance.In general there’s quite an improvement from last season.

“That’s basically because of the way he prepares his team but obviously he still has to know all the players and be able to know their strengths and weaknesses. That takes time‚ but obviously we have to win. We can’t wait for too long‚ we need to win.

“But I must say he’s doing a good job for me so far,” commented Motaung.