KAIZER Chiefs team manager, Bobby Motaung, is pleading with Amakhosi fans to give coach Stuart Baxter a chance to turn the club’s fortunes around.
Chiefs fans have run out of patience with Baxter and are demanding he acts quickly following a poor start to the season, which saw them occupy 12th spot on the DStv Premiership table.
The Naturena side are four points ahead of bottom club TS Galaxy.
Chiefs seem to be familiar with the position as they were at the bottom half of the table for the better part of last season, having sneaked into the top eight on the last day under then coach Gavin Hunt.
Baxter has won only one league match so far, having drawn three times with two defeats.
Amakhosi also got booted out of the MTN8 by Mamelodi Sundowns, which did not sit well with fans who were hoping to end their six-year trophy drought, opening wounds of failing to win the Caf Champions League in Baxter’s first match in charge.
The 68-year-old mentor will need to beat Hunt’s Chippa United at all costs in their next league game at FNB Stadium on Saturday to restore the fans’ trust to win trophies again.
But Motaung insists that it’s still early for fans to press panic buttons as he believes Baxter will restore the glory days, which saw him win four trophies during his three-year spell with Amakhosi from 2012 until 2015.
“We have just played only five games. Let’s give the coach a chance to improve the team,” said Motaung.
He said it will take some time for Baxter to fine tune Amakhosi to win the title.
He added: “He is still trying to get combinations right and also trying to find his rhythm.”
Baxter is regarded as Chiefs’ saviour as four coaches tried to end the Soweto giants’ drought without success.
Steve Komphela replaced Baxter and his three-year stint ended in 2018 without a trophy.
Giovanni Solinas followed suit, but was sacked six months later with Ernst Middendorp returning to the club before he was fired at the end of the 2019-20 season.
Hunt followed suit hoping to give Chiefs fans something to cheer about, but he was also shown the door without winning a single trophy. It remains to be seen whether Baxter will put a smile on the faces of Chiefs’ fans or not.
