Johannesburg - Kaizer Chiefs’ assistant coach Dillon Sheppard says it’s “very difficult” to address their angry supporters after the team endured another barren season.
After losing to arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in the Nedbank Cup a week ago to confirm an infamous streak of eighth successive season without a silverware, things went from bad to worse for Chiefs.
At a hot Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Saturday, Chiefs lost 1-0 to SuperSport United in the league’s penultimate round to relinquish any chances of salvaging their season by finishing in the top three.
It was a disastrous result and pre-conclusion to the season that saw their angry supporters unleash their wrath on the team, hurling them with missiles as they headed to the dressing room.
Coach Arthur Zwane was one of the victims that was injured in the process after a bottle cut him underneath his eye, resulting in him missing the obligatory post-match press conference duties.
“It’s got nothing to do with him not being here,” said Sheppard, shrugging off any suggestions that Zwane’s unavailability was a stance to avoid accounting for the loss that confirmed another disastrous season.
“Unfortunately, he picked up an injury to his eye from that incident. I don’t know what happened from the incident. I just saw him put some ice to his eye. I have to find out the details when I get back to the changeroom.”
With Chiefs playing their last match of the season at home against Cape Town on Saturday at home, they’ll have to win the match at all costs if they want to avoid the ugly scenes that erupted in Rustenburg.
Sheppard, though, has conceded that it’s very difficult to reason with their supporters on why the results haven’t been forthcoming – they’ve lost their last three games in a row.
“It’s very difficult, very difficult,” said Sheppard when he was quizzed of their message to their supporters amid the team’s disastrous end to the season.
“You put in the work and, of course, you want to show in performances (by winning). They come out in numbers, and they are not happy with the score today.”
Despite the fourth-place finish counting for nothing, Chiefs will have to hold on to it for dear life against City who are fifth and two points behind them (42) come Saturday.
Or else, failure to do that could all but spell another incident of Chiefs’ supporters unleashing their wrath on the team after another disappointing result.
“So it’s only us that can make it right. We are positive in times like these even though it’s easy to look at the negatives. We have to draw energy from the positives. We still have fourth place to play for and we’ve got to look forward to that,” Sheppard said.
@MihlaliBaleka