Staff Reporter.
Struggling Kaizer Chiefs are set to welcome their on-form Gauteng rivals SuperSport United at the FNB Stadium in a DSTV Premiership match on Saturday evening.
Chiefs have battled with inconsistency this term and are perched just above the relegation zone in 14th place after collecting eight points from their opening seven matches.
A 1-1 draw with Marumo Gallants on Sunday extended their winless run in the league to three outings as Chiefs shipped their eighth goal of the campaign.
Siyabonga Ngezana, Cole Alexander, Khama Billiat, Reeve Frosler and Nkosingiphile Ngcobo were unavailable for selection due to an assortment of reasons.
Chiefs head coach Arthur Zwane is determined to fight on despite calls for his head from sections of the club’s supporters.
“It is part of the game, these things do happen to the best coaches in the world,” Zwane said. “And if you remember when I was appointed, I said the same thing – that there would be tough times when the results are not coming and obviously people wouldn’t be happy. But that doesn’t mean that we should give up.
“We will keep on doing the right thing and we know that we are on the right track. Yes, it’s quite difficult because the results are fluctuating, but the good thing about it is that we know what we want to achieve. We know where we want to see ourselves and it’s a work in progress.”
The Spartans have recovered from a slow start, which saw them pick up just two points from their first four encounters under Gavin Hunt following his return to the helm during the off-season.
Hunt’s side made it three wins on the spin when they beat Maritzburg United 2-1 last week to climb up to sixth in the standings, five points adrift of leaders Mamelodi Sundowns with a game in hand.
Hunt was disappointed that his side conceded immediately after Thatayaone Ditlhokwe had opened the scoring in the 57th minute, admitting they should have calmed the situation down after taking the lead.
“You’ve just got to get back into basic shape from the kick-off and I thought we were all out of alignment,” he said. “One ball over the top over the back of us, our midfield players were nowhere and the boy popped it over.
“That’s where you need people on the pitch to lead the situation and get hold of the situation, especially after you’ve scored. We could have calmed it down for 10-15 minutes which we didn’t and then all credit to the players, they kept going and we came back.”