Johannesburg - Arthur Zwane has endured a frustrating start at Kaizer Chiefs, but he must guard against losing his dressing-room due to his match-day tantrums.
Sure, emotions are part and parcel of the game, with coaches expected to have a go at players when they fail to stick to the game plan and deliver. But in an age where social media plays a big role, no player wants to find himself trending for being yelled at by the coach.
And unfortunately, that’s what a handful of Chiefs’ personnel appear to be subjected to under the leadership of Zwane who is under pressure to deliver.
It all started when Zwane seemed to have completely ignored Dillon Sheppard’s handshake after Chiefs’ 1-1 draw with Marumo Gallants last month.
But Zwane quickly dismissed the incident, saying that he didn’t see his assistant as he was too consumed by the result of the match.
Fast forward a couple of weeks later, and Zwane is back at it. This time “10111” has been firing all the ammunition at his players.
A video of Zwane trended where he was pointing to the stands while angrily looking at Siyabonga Ngezana as Chiefs trailed against Chippa United on Saturday. Ngezana’s reaction was clearly unpleasant. But how could it not be as he was just rediscovering his confidence following a poor run of form?
Zwane’s plight seemed to be back in full flight on Wednesday when Chiefs trailed against TS Galaxy, waving a fist towards Yusuf Maart.
@thatishi @prophilani @UncappedLekoko @PuleZtro @Velile_Mnyandu
— FootballSuccess (@WithMrFootball) October 17, 2022
Our coaches & players need to utelize the services of either psychologists or mental coaches.
The pressure is too much on both.
I remember the end of Nale at KC in a similar situation.
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Of course, watching the action from replays can be deceiving while we cannot ignore the matter of clear incidents which look convincing.
But I’ve followed Zwane’s coaching career long enough to know that he demands a lot from his players, while his use of emotional motivation is very harsh.
At one stage, Bruce Bvuma was a victim of Zwane’s fury after a poor performance for the reserves following his promotion to the senior team. Granted, Zwane must have meant well, but his tone and anger were so feisty that one of his backroom staff was also appalled by his behaviour. During his stint as Chiefs’ interim coach, Zwane spoke candidly about the type of players the club wants and why they will select on merit.
Why is this plumber threatening to beat players 😂![CDATA[]]>😂pic.twitter.com/zXc8ZnbvwC
— ChrisExcel (@ChrisExcel102) October 19, 2022
The club seemed to have caught up on that, with reports surfacing that Chiefs organised a language and speech therapist for him after his appointment.
That feat has been telling in his interaction with the media, given that he has kept a confident front in spite of their mixed results so far this season.
But in the midst of fine tuning his public speech, Zwane appears to be taking out his frustration on his coaching staff and players. And that’s not on. Sure, he has to keep saying the right things, but he needs a healthy, quiet dressing-room that will stick by him through thick and thin.
It’s not too late for Zwane to show a little bit of trust in his players without emotional projections. After all, he is coaching men, and not boys, for Pete’s sake.
IOL Sport
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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