Consistency has been eluding Kaizer Chiefs in a season where their fans have high hopes that the new technical team, led by coach Nasreddine Nabi, will help the club to finally snap their nearly decade-long trophy drought.
Amakhosi were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Carling Knockout, their first cup competition of the season, by Mamelodi Sundowns in November.
As they are already 12 points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who've played two games fewer in the Betway Premiership, it's clear that Amakhosi's trophy drought will stretch to the 11th season if they fail to win the Nedbank Cup, where they've reached the last 16.
As Amakhosi prepare for the Soweto derby with Orlando Pirates on Saturday, Sowetan spoke to the team's marketing director Jessica Motaung who begged the club's supporters to be patient with Nabi and his technical team. Motaung also urged the Amakhosi faithful to maintain discipline.
Sowetan: Since he arrived in the off-season, Nabi has won eight of the 17 games he's overseen at Chiefs with six defeats and three draws, does the club's hierarchy still have faith in him?
Motaung: We made big changes at the start of the season. We have to be fair. We knew this was a process. We are clear that we are not here to hit the ground running... this is a long-term investment. We know that it takes time to gel and make things work. Our supporters need to be patient and work with us. We are confident that the technical team is working hard and they have our full backing.
Sowetan: The club has numerously been sanctioned for spectator behaviour, so are there any measures in place to make sure that the fans maintain discipline in stadiums when chips are down?
Motaung: First, we urge our fans to always be responsible. We condemn violence and we hope that we are not going to witness it in our games this season. We have platforms to engage with supporters' branches to make sure we talk about what's expected from the fans in games.
Sowetan: The Nedbank Cup is realistically the only trophy left for Chiefs this season, how important is this cup to end the trophy drought?
Motaung: Every competition is important to us but certainly the Nedbank Cup is on our radar to win and the team is focused to make sure that they achieve that.
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