Mihlali Baleka|Published16 minutes agoEarly MTN8 exit provides wake-up call for rebuilding Kaizer Chiefs

Fernando Da Cruz, Kaizer Chiefs coach, put under immediate pressure after their MTN8 exit on Sunday. It is often said that how you start is not how you’ll finish. Kaizer Chiefs must take a leaf from that phrase if they are to improveon their MTN8 early exitand finish the season on a high.

Chiefs lost 1-0 to Golden Arrows in the Wafa Wafa quarter-final on Saturday night, missing out on the first silverware of the season. It was a crushing night for the Amakhosi faithful, who had earlierwitnessed rivals Orlando Piratesand Mamelodi Sundowns reach the semi-finals. Chiefs are going through a rebuilding phase, having recently appointed Fernando Da Cruz as the new coach, with a refreshed technical team and new players, including Langelihle Phili, Thabo Moloisane, Faiz Abrahams, and Adolf Mtasingwa Bitegeko, signed during the transfer window.

Despite Da Cruz returning to the club after serving as Nasreddine Nabi’s assistant for a month, the Frenchman’s familiarity with the team was supposed to yield dividends from the outset – particularly in the MTN8. The Marbella camp in Spain was expected not only to integrate Moloisane, the only new player who traveled with the squad, but also to establish Da Cruz’s philosophy. The 54-year-old coach has stressed his commitment to attacking football. As such, his troops should focus on possession-based play combined with the explosiveness needed to reach the final third more quickly.