Zwane promises Chiefs faithful a brighter future

'It was a learning season, not a train smash'

18 May 2023 - 11:28
By Sihle Ndebele
Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane. File photo.
Image: Veli Nhlapo Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane. File photo.

Embattled Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane has put last Saturday's violent incident behind him, promising Amakhosi faithful a joyous future in which they'll forget about the team's current struggles. 

After the 1-0 defeat, their record 11th in the PSL era, to SuperSport United at Royal Bafokeng Stadium last Saturday, Chiefs fans pelted Zwane with missiles, chanting “Zwane must go”. The Amakhosi mentor subsequently suffered a cut to his face after being struck by a police shield, attempting to protect him. Chiefs host Cape Town City in their final game of the season at FNB Stadium on Saturday (3pm).

“At the end of the day we have to focus on what we can do and what we can deal with. In front of us is City and that's where our focus is. We thought we could redeem ourselves against SuperSport but on the day I think we didn't exact ourselves the way we wanted to and we ended up losing, Zwane told his team's media department on Thursday.

“We are also worried about the situation because we thought the situation would be better, even far better but when you are in a phase we are in, you'll always have hiccups and challenges here and there. They [the supporters] are always in our thoughts. We always want to make them happy and most definitely the time will come when they'll be happy and when they are happy like others, they'll forget about days like these.”

Despite failing to end the club's eight-year trophy drought this season and squandering their chances of playing continental football next season, Zwane is still convinced they weren't as bad as people perceive them to have been. 

“We've had our ups and downs. We had moments where we were happy, we saw things coming alright and we also had moments that gave us sleepless nights, in terms of not getting the results,” the Chiefs coach said.

“It's been a learning season, a very difficult one but also it's a season one can say, for a new squad and a new technical team, not bad at all. [But] we are looking forward to improving things. It's still not a train smash.”