Vlad gets tough

Vladimir Vermezovic made his move to regain control of a restive Kaizer Chiefs dressing-room.

At what the coach called an "honest press conference", he asserted his authority over senior players and revealed why he demoted Jimmy Tau as captain and replaced him with goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune.

The coach said he was not a football dictator.

"I am not Gaddafi," he said.

"And I hope I don't end up like him.

"This club is bigger than all of us and it is my job to criticise and praise my players. There are rules that they have to respect."

Vermezovic said some don't like him "because I am direct and brutal".

"I will never change my philosophy and how I do things, but to suggest on social networks that I am like Gaddafi, is, I am sorry, sh**."

He said Tau had been stripped of the captaincy because the player was "not good enough" to be his right-hand man. Khune, he said, had proved the opposite.

Tau, who was made captain in 2008, was officially reduced in the ranks at the weekend in the defeat by Platinum Stars in the Telkom Knockout at the Royal Bafokeng stadium.

Yesterday, Vermezovic said Tau was "soft and sometimes too nice".

Those characteristics, according to the coach, are not the makings of a captain for a team "as big as Kaizer Chiefs".

Vermezovic, sitting next to Chiefs football manager Bobby Motaung, said the management backed his decision to promote Khune.

"Jimmy, at some point, broke the rules, but I can't say what they were because I will also be breaking the rules. That is one of the reasons why I decided to remove him as captain and, fortunately for me, the club supports this," said the coach.

"Jimmy is a nice guy, but he is too soft and can't be hard or aggressive. That is not his character, but I know I can trust Khune. He can be the coach and my right-hand man on the field."

The coach lauded Khune's achievements at 24. He said the Bafana goalkeeper was No1 in the country, could shout and take responsibility.

"At his age he has achieved what most players will never achieve. He has played in a World Cup and is the best in the country," he said.

Asked why Siphiwe Tshabalala, who had captained Bafana in most of their Nations Cup qualifiers in the absence of Steven Pienaar, was not part of the "four captains" at Chiefs, Vermezovic said the player was not committed to the club.

"I looked at the future of the club and Shabba is not committed. I have asked him if his priority is to stay at the club or go to Europe, and he said he wanted to go abroad. He is a star for the team, but maybe he is not a leader. This guy isn't 100% with this club," said the coach.

He said he picked two of the "four captains" - Tinashe Nengomasha and Kaizer Motaung Jnr - because they had a rich history at Chiefs. The other two - George Lebese and Tlou Molekwane - were future captains, he said.

COACH NOT MAKING FRIENDS:

Did Chiefs coach Vladimir Vermezovic win the hearts and minds of his players yesterday?

No, according to two senior players who did not want to be named.

They said Vermezovic needed to work on his "terrible man-management skills".

"His handling of the players needs to improve and that makes him a difficult person to work with. The club refused to allow Jimmy Tau to give his opinion on the captaincy issue because he would have been honest," said one player.

The Times understands that Itumeleng Khune, who was appointed captain this week, was not the first choice.

A few other senior players were approached but refused because of their support for Tau.

"The captain is allowed to speak to the coach about what happens in the team, but when Jimmy did so, he was seen as undermining Vermezovic," said another.

The coach criticised Siphiwe Tshabalala and said the player was not committed to the club.

Tshabalala said: "I respect his decision not to make me captain, but I am here and committed."

Vermezovic hinted that he suspected divisions in the team.

"The players don't always have to know everything. There's probably something they know and discuss that I don't," said the coach.