Kaizer Chiefs coach fast beginning to sound like a stuck record

To liken it to a stuck record would probably be a little harsh, but there was a familiarity to Arthur Zwane’s postmatch comments after yet another Kaizer Chiefs defeat that you couldn’t help but feel “if the cap fits ... ”

Deep in the bowels of the Peter Mokaba Stadium as May Day wound to an end, Zwane cut the sorry figure of a deflated labourer as he once again lamented a loss he believed should not have been.

Like the workers who complained about their poor working conditions and the need for improvement throughout the country on Monday — as they have done over the years on this public holiday — the Amakhosi coach was singing from the same hymn sheet he has been singing from since the start of the season.

And it is fast becoming a little tiresome, so much so that the question has  to be asked if the man is just not good enough to swim out of the deep end he has been thrown into as coach of the country’s most popular team. 

The 2-1 loss they suffered against Swallows FC was the second in their three home matches that Chiefs decided to bring to the Polokwane arena.

The once Glamour Boys of Phefeni had been defeated by Golden Arrows and their one win in Polokwane was against Royal AM. Add to that their loss away to Sekhukhune United last week at the same venue and the Peter Mokaba Stadium seems like one Chiefs should rather avoid.

You could so easily have been listening to a replay of Zwane’s analysis of the losses to Arrows, Sekhukhune and the eight others, which now surely have taken Chiefs out of contention for the Caf Champions League-securing second spot finish in the Premiership.

“Though we dictated terms, we were still not penetrating and creating goal-scoring opportunities for the better part of the first half,” Zwane said.

“I am disappointed we did not win this one. But the second-half performance I cannot blame them [the players]. Unfortunately they missed chances, but they showed a little bit of hunger. I just expected them to start the game like that. Maybe we thought it was gonna be an easy game playing a team that is third or fourth from bottom.  It’s a case of mindset, but we’re gonna have to keep on going.”

But the reality is that Chiefs have been “keeping on going” for a while without really getting anywhere. Zwane seems unable to get the team to turn their dominance of matches into victories that would have allowed them “reclaim the glory days” he was assigned to achieve. 

Perhaps his acceptance of “good performances” which fail to yield wins is what is letting the team down, for the novice coach has previously said that he is in charge of a fledgling team.

“There’s a lot of improvement in the squad,” he repeated. “More so [because] playing with young players and those who are new in the set-up is a bit of a challenge to strike a balance.”

It is his job to strike that balance, and with just two matches left in the league there is little chance he can do that — at least not enough to suggest he can get Chiefs the Champions League spot they so much yearn for.

Zwane has the opportunity to take Amakhosi into continental football via the Nedbank Cup when they face their old enemy Orlando Pirates in the semifinal at the weekend.

Can he beat the Buccaneers once again like he has done in the league clashes already? He has to if he is not to sound like a stuck record at least.