NKARENG MATSHE | Soweto Derby could make or break coach Zwane

A fresh dilemma could confront Kaizer Chiefs as they head into tomorrow’s Soweto Derby: to act or not to act, should Arthur Zwane’s troops return an unsatisfactory result in SA’s biggest fixture.

Zwane was given full backing when he was appointed in May, with the club hierarchy promising they would stand by him no matter what. His tenure has not necessarily been a disaster, nor has it been overwhelmingly pleasing, but the danger with chance appointments is that they could deteriorate to the point of no return.

A win for Amakhosi against bitter rivals Orlando Pirates would buy Chiefs management some time as we head into the Fifa World Cup break, with no league matches until late December. It would allow the fans to gloat all the way to Christmas as Chiefs would be ahead of Pirates in the standings, despite Bucs fans’ contention that their team are a far more settled side.

Chiefs fans would also celebrate a fourth win in a row over Bucs, as they go into FNB Stadium tomorrow having won the last three.

Defeat, however, would herald huge panic in the Amakhosi ranks. It would mean a fourth match in a row without victory, because Chiefs lost to Chippa United two weeks ago and then drew against TS Galaxy and AmaZulu, the latter result denying them progression to next weekend’s MTN8 final.

Zwane is one of the few fortunate people to have experienced the derby on either side, having played for both giants in his heyday, so he would know the magnitude of tomorrow’s fixture.

He can do with a positive result to ward off growing growls of discontent against his regime, which has been confusingly inconsistent since August. You just never know which Chiefs will turn up tomorrow. Will it be the one who destroyed Maritzburg United in their first home match on Women’s Day? Or the wimps who couldn’t find a shot on target against AmaZulu last week?

Zwane’s biggest challenge is that even he doesn’t seem to have the answers. But his prime job is to provide the answers. How he has still not managed to shore up Chiefs is one of his biggest failings thus far. From their very first match against Royal AM, Amakhosi have looked vulnerable at the back and, four months in, they have not improved an inch. It’s an indictment on Zwane, whose team have leaked in 15 goals in 12 matches, just two fewer than the worst defence in the league – Maritzburg

Should Chiefs lose, their management will find themselves in a pickle. Do they continue to defend Zwane, or do they rescue his regime from sinking further into an abyss? What would another coaching change do to Chiefs’ previously intact image of backing coaches despite fans’ impatience? Chiefs have already dispensed with Ernst Middendorp, Gavin Hunt and Stuart Baxter in the past two years, making the great Kaizer Motaung look like the notoriously trigger-happy Chippa Mpengesi.

Is another coaching change viable? Or will it be seen as a classic case of a management looking at the easiest scapegoat to shield itself from deep-rooted, organisational challenges that extend beyond the head of the technical team?

All these questions could be irrelevant if Chiefs win. But imagine the pressure Zwane would be under should they lose to their rivals, and then watch them lift a trophy next week. A dilemma of huge proportions!