NOTHING but a cup success would make up for the disappointment Steve Komphela has suffered.
In his two-and-half-year spell, the Kaizer Chiefs coach hasn’t come close to satisfying the club’s insatiable appetite for silverware.
Komphela too knows well that no one remembers the runners-up and the two cup finals the team reached, quite frankly, count for less.
But the upcoming Nedbank Cup tournament offers him another chance at redemption as he goes into what could be his last five months in the Chiefs hotseat.
It seems like ages since the Amakhosi, renowned cup specialists, celebrated a trophy, the team having last delivered a trophy three seasons ago.
“How long should we wait?” said Komphela.
“Not for me, but the supporters. Go back and check the two cup finals to see how unlucky we’ve been, the Telkom (Knockout) against (Mamelodi) Sundowns in Durban where we got two penalties in a cup final, and still came out with nothing.
"The MTN8 against Ajax (Cape Town) in the Eastern Cape. You look at the Telkom semifinal against (Bidvest) Wits. It’s sad. But what do you do?
“But now go for this like any other match and with an ambition to win it. Not at the back of our minds thinking ‘it shouldn’t’. We are going all out and not half-hearted. We want to win it. Chiefs have won many things in years back. It’s gonna happen again. But we need to forget about our setbacks.”
It wasn’t a favourable draw for Amakhosi, being paired with Golden Arrows and not the lower league minnows in the Ke Yona Last 32 round.
But Komphela reckons all the teams are extremely difficult for Chiefs and Arrows are no different.
“Whether we got a team in the lower division now, we would still come across PSL teams moving forward,” Komphela explained.
“If you want to be a champion you got to beat the best. It would be nice for me to win, but we are all here for the club. It would be nice if Chiefs get a cup. I think the supporters deserve that as well.
“With regards to me? I’m a man who accepts. When God says it’s time for me to get, I will receive. And if he says no, wait. Then I’ll wait. There’s no harm in waiting. He’s got the best timing. It’s never too early, nor too late.”
