Kaizer Chiefs not yet half the team I want to see: Nasreddine Nabi

Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi played down Saturday's impressive 3-0 win over Chippa United as any kind of arrival for his team, cautioning Amakhosi are still not half the side he wants them to be.

Gaston Sirino (13th minute), Inácio Miguel (77th-minute penalty) and Pule Mmodi (89th) scored the goals in the Nedbank Cup last 16 clash on a chilly evening at FNB Stadium. Chiefs' celebrations will be brief as they have to swiftly shift focus to hosting SuperSport United at the same venue in the Betway Premiership on Tuesday (7.30pm).

“We still have a lot of work to do, a long road to travel. We are not even half the team we dream of but the biggest certainty is we are heading in the right direction,” Nabi said.

“I wouldn't say this was the best game since the beginning of the season because we felt that at some point, especially the last 20, 25 minutes of the first half, we didn't have control of the game.

“We let Chippa come at us with long balls and we knew they were going to do that. If we can improve on those little things and have control of the game for the whole 90 minutes [then Chiefs can be the team they aspire to be].

“We need to be the team that decides the tempo of the game, as to when we need to accelerate and when we need to slow things down — then we will be consistent [in results].”

While he stressed being cautious, Nabi, after a rare feat of two wins in a row — Chiefs' win against Chippa followed a 1-0 league victory away against tough Stellenbosch FC on February 7 — believes his side are gradually developing mental strength.

“We are starting to have a big mindset as a collective, knowing how to look for a victory and playing together. So big shout-out to the players and the technical staff.”

Chiefs will learn their Nedbank Cup last-eight opponents on Monday when the draw is conducted at SuperSport studios in Randburg (starts 7pm).

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