Give me more time, Chiefs coach Ntseki pleads with club’s supporters

Kaizer Chiefs coach Molefi Ntseki has pleaded with the club's fans to give him time to fix the team, reminding them that some of the most successful coaches in football did not start winning trophies and matches from day one.

Ntseki said even former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson, former Mamelodi Sundowns, Al Ahly and current Al Wahda boss Pitso Mosimane and Manchester City's Pep Guardiola struggled initially, before getting desired results.

Some Chiefs fans showed impatience with how the club is faring under Ntseki by pelting him with missiles after the team lost 1-0 to TS Galaxy in a DStv Premiership match at the Mbombela Stadium on Sunday. 

Chiefs, who have not won a trophy in eight seasons, have started the league season with a draw and two defeats. They face AmaZulu at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday.

“I always look back at people who came before me,” Ntseki said when asked about the pressure Amakhosi fans are putting him under. 

“I look back at some of the top coaches, like Alex Ferguson when he joined Man United. People were not happy with him in the first season, but he ended up becoming the most successful coach at Man United.

“I look at Pep Guardiola when he joined Man City — the first year was not a very good year. But he ended up becoming the best coach in the world and the team he manages [City] is the best in the world. 

“You look at what happened to Pitso Mosimane when he was at Sundowns. I think it shows that at times when we're not patient with ourselves, we end up maybe becoming too hard on ourselves as things are not going according to our plan.”

Ntseki insisted he's capable of understanding where the fans' anger stems from.

“Whether it's a small team or a big team, if the supporters are not happy, we should have a way of addressing it. 

“People are demanding that the team win, people are very impatient because of what has been happening in the past years. Yes, we might be getting all that is happening today and it's not necessarily by our own cause, but because of what has been happening in the past.

“But you cannot run away and say, 'Why are you doing this to me?'. It's football, it's life and you have to be strong and be brave.”

Chiefs have signed a new striker from Colombia, Efmamjjasond Gonzalez, as they look bring in a player who can fire in goals, having scored just once in three league matches. 

Though the 24-year-old Gonzalez was unveiled in Naturena this week, it may take a few weeks before he makes his debut as Ntseki said the striker's paperwork has to be concluded before he starts training with the team.