Kaizer Chiefs’ coach Nasreddine Nabi knows that criticism is part and parcel of his job, but he’s urged the club's fans once again to understand that Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Chiefs have blown hot and cold this season. As such, they can only realistically finish in the Top 8 in the Betway Premiership and perhaps win the Nedbank Cup.
90 + 4’| #MS 1 : 0 #KC
— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) March 1, 2025
Full time score: (Ribeiro 41’) Mamelodi Sundowns 1 : 0 Kaizer Chiefs#Amakhosi4Life #AlwaysHome #BetwayPrem pic.twitter.com/WAIMFI47X7
In spite of lossing to rivals Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 on Saturday, Chiefs arguably played their best football of the season against the best team in South Africa. Many will argue that Chiefs were well rested compared to the Brazilians, who had played three games in eight days, but given the latter’s squad depth, that’s debatable.
Nabi focused on his team’s performance, after the match, and left Pretoria impressed. So, too, were the club’s supporters, who sang and applauded the team after the game in Atteridgeville. Given all the positivity that came out of that performance, Nabi wants more of the same recipe as they try to cook and serve something tasty as the campaign reaches its climax.
“Firstly, it’s a mindset that we need to have – to be consistent. We need to take this performance to the next game and the others,” Nabi said. “But sometimes to play in these big clubs when the results are not positive, the critics become harsh on the players that even in the next game you must deal with a lot of things.
“You must deal with encouraging the players and putting them in the right mindset. And then there’s the tactical part of the game.
“So, that becomes a little bit difficult, but we believe that these players can do it. They just need to be supported because the mistakes can happen to anyone – players and coaches.”
Following on that, Nabi again pleaded with Chiefs fans to exercise a bit of patience regarding the rebuilding process, citing the fact that Chiefs 10-year barren run is because they’ve chopped and changed coaches without exercising patience.
“When there’s a critic, the coach can be criticised because that’s how the job description is. You lose by four goals, you have the right to be criticised,” Nabi explained. “But the fans of Kaizer Chiefs need to be careful, this is a process that’s going on. Things are going and then coming back to zero.
“Sometimes there are people that do not want the process to arrive, so the best way they find is to criticise the coach, and the coach gets fired, and then the process must restart from zero.”
It's true – some naysayers believe that Nabi is out of his depth, and he doesn’t have what it takes to coach a club of Chiefs’ calibre. The 59-year-old is peeved by such remarks, given that he occasionally turns down high-paying jobs to coach the club that he loves.
“For me, it’s not a problem, I'm not here for the money because you know there's too much talk in the media about my salary,” Nabi said.
“I promise you every day, I have propositions from big clubs with three times more salary than I receive here. I have a mission here at Chiefs. I'm not here for the money and I love this club. I am strong, I don't lose my confidence quickly like that because my history is big.
"I'm going to sacrifice everything to get Chiefs back to where it belongs and the criticism is part of the job but sometimes when you see your own colleagues criticise you, that's a lack of respect,” he concluded.