Afcon break will bring ‘hardest work I have ever put in’: Chiefs coach Johnson

Cavin Johnson foresees the “hardest work I have ever put in” as a coach during the Africa Cup of Nations break as he strives to have Kaizer Chiefs genuinely competitive for the second half of the 2023-24 season.

Johnson is facing one of the biggest challenges of his career I his stint as interim coach of the ailing Soweto giants, the position he took when Molefi Ntseki was sacked after one of the briefest tenures by a Chiefs coach on October 23.

The signs in the results — one defeat in Chiefs’ last six Premiership games, with four wins and a draw as Amakhosi edged up to sixth place — were good, but Johnson admitted the football had much room to improve with all of those victories coming by single-goal margins, three of them 1-0.

The coach was asked what Chiefs’ plans are for six-week break for the Nations Cup in Ivory Coast, which takes place from January 13 to February 11.

Johnson said the players would be given days for “at least new year and hopefully a few more days so they can spend some time with their families and get away from football”.

“I think this break will be probably of the hardest I am going to work because we can’t end 2023 on a high like this and then start 2024 in a different mode.

“If I’m in the [running for] the league for this team, then I can see it’s going to be the hardest work I’ve ever put in.

“It’s not Cavin Johnson who’s planning this whole thing, it’s Cavin Johnson and company, which means the medical, nutrition, physical and technical people. Having already planned what we are going to do, we will for sure, for sure be a different Kaizer Chiefs that comes out an plays next year.”

The break gives Johnson some breathing space to work with his squad and implement his playing style further.

Chiefs chair Kaizer Motaung has indicated a new coach will take the reins at Naturena in 2024-25. Johnson, though, will have an inkling that an impressive second half of this campaign will not hurt his chances of putting his hat in the ring, should he even want the job permanently.

Chiefs, who drew their last game of 2023 1-1 against Sekhukhune United at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday, return to action with their league match against TS Galaxy at the same venue on February 13.