Kaizer Motaung Jnr says his new sporting director role at Kaizer Chiefs is a bridge between management and co-ordinating the departments of signings, football strategy and development to formulate short to long-term plans to revive the ailing Soweto giants.

The son of chairperson and founder Kaizer Motaing said he meets with football manager Bobby Motaung, head of technical and the academy Molefi Ntseki and the first team coaches, led by head coach Stuart Baxter, almost daily, co-ordinating their various roles into a strategic vision.

His and Ntseki's appointments in the preseason were made as an answer to Chiefs disastrously having gone six seasons without a trophy. They are on the verge of a seventh in 2021-22.

“Assuming a sporting director role for me is very exciting because it's at the core of building long-term sustainable plans for the organisation, and there are different touchpoints from my side, and not just focused on the football side of the business,” Motaung Jnr said.

“But what's important is it's given me the last few months to do a proper assessment. You're inheriting a squad and inheriting seven years of certain strategies that clearly aren't working. And it's being true and honest to the process of saying, 'What are the real plans to bring proper change?'

“I know we sometimes look from season to season but if we are honest with ourselves and have just looked at the past and seen what doesn't work there's a whole new direction we have to take. So it's been very exciting. There are a lot of plans people are only going to see in the next few years, because there's long, medium and short term.

“A lot of hard work has been put in and a lot more is needed from my side.”

Motaung Jnr was groomed for a role in senior administration after he retired in 2014 from an 11-year playing career for Chiefs where he played 106 games as a striker. The 40-year-old has been given a key role co-ordinating strategy between ex-Bafana Bafana coach Ntseki in youth and playing philosophy, Bobby Motaung in signings and contract negotiations, and Baxter as head coach.

“Molefi Ntseki is also our head of development and youth. People often look at commercial and buying power, but with the strategies that have worked in the clubs succeeding globally, look at their youth set-ups,” Motaung Jnr said.

“A head of technical obviously would have responsibilities around driving philosophy in the first team but it's very important to have created that link, even though we already had our youth set-up merging with the first team.

“Of course with Mr Ntseki, having taken up that role with the existing staff members, there are huge plans as to how we can evolve and change that. But I think it's been a very important role in terms of coming and giving support to the youth, into the first team.

“There are different technical elements. There are technical elements to be discussed to do with the playing philosophy, to do with certain football operations on the technical side. And that is not something that you can short-change.

“Right now we're talking about our philosophy — people want us to play in a certain way, and to take that seriously you have to divide up certain areas and give it the right attention. I think it's been a good mix between having the technical element and again, of course, there's the business around the football element that gets things done.

“Football has to be at the core of everything. There's no point discussing sponsorships and partnerships if football is not at the core of that. And that's part of the job I've been fulfilling, and aligning that with the rest of the company's strategies.

“Of course, there are ongoing responsibilities that the football manager has been taking care of — our contract negotiations and player movements, and of course we've come a bit more into that role to form a bit more of a formidable team.

“I think it's a structure that has a lot of potential and will bear fruit in the near future.”

Motaung Jnr said he, Bobby Motaung, Ntseki and the first team coaches meet “almost daily, to be honest. It's at that level of intensity for us right now.”

He continued: “First, to formalise a working structure; and, second, things change on a daily basis. Part of our responsibilities has been the pre-training meeting with the coach, with the technical staff pre and post, and pre and post for games. So it's almost daily.”

Fifth-placed Chiefs meet last-placed Baroka FC in their DStv Premiership match at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday night.