'Solinas was not top of the list‚ I must confess‚' says Chiefs boss Kaizer Motaung

Kaizer Chiefs boss Kaizer Motaung has conceded that beleaguered coach Giovanni Solinas was not the first choice to succeed Steve Komphela at the Naturena club.

Solinas has come under intense scrutiny as Chiefs continue to stumble from one poor result to the next.

Chiefs are yet to win in the Absa Premiership after five outings this season - since the start of the season in August.

Motaung admitted that they had to settle on the 50-year-old Italian after the club's attempts to get the coaches they wanted fizzled out when they were about to sign on the dotted line.

“No‚ he (Solinas) wasn’t top of the list‚ I must confess‚” said Motaung‚ whose club would love to celebrate 50 years of existence in 2020 in style.

“We lost one or two very good ones for obvious reasons and timing.

"It’s not so easy to get top coaches in the continent because we also have to compete with the Arab countries.

“I can tell you there are two coaches who could have come here.

"We missed the first one after two days when we had come to an agreement. He had to leave the country after being offered a job in Qatar.

“We’re talking big dollars there and we can’t compete.”

Though Solinas also failed to reach his first cup final after letting SuperSport United off the hook in the MTN8 semi-final last weekend‚ Motaung said he’s not panicking just yet.

"What is good is the way he works with the team‚" he said.

"He’s got a good work ethic and I’ve looked at his performance.

"In general there’s quite an improvement from last season.

“That’s basically because of the way he prepares his team but obviously he still has to know all the players and be able to know their strengths and weaknesses.

“That takes time‚ but obviously we have to win‚ we have to win. We can’t wait for too long‚ we need to win.

“But I must say he’s doing a good job for me so far.

"It’s just that he comes under a lot of pressure for a lot of things that need to be put right at the club.”