Beaten Johnson promises to get Kaizer Chiefs out of their rut

Having started his era at Kaizer Chiefs on a sour note following a 1-2 defeat to Golden Arrows, Kaizer Chiefs interim coach Cavin Johnson has identified areas where he feels he will need to work hard to improve the team.

Johnson was roped in to fill in as an interim coach following the departure of Molefi Ntseki last week but could not lead the Amakhosi to victory in his first match on Saturday at Mpumalanga Stadium.

Knox Mutizwa scored a brace to give Arrows a hard-fought 2-1 victory, while Sifiso Hlanti scored for Amakhosi.

Addressing the media during the post-match press conference, Johnson was calm and said he would do his all to make the current players better to get their confidence back.

Johnson, 64, admitted that it was not a start he was looking for, but that he is confident that they will start winning matches soon. 

“No coach in the world wants to have a poor start. It is not good, but we will keep our feet on the ground and hopefully, we will be able to get better results next time,” he said.

“It’s about taking the job that the chairman [Kaizer Motaung] wants you to do and knowing that you have done this before in your life and trying to fix that.

“I will do my best and I think I have a good group of people behind me because this is not on my shoulders. It belongs to a lot of people and they are putting a lot of effort in to make sure that we deliver on 11 v 11.”

The former Al Ahly assistant coach was also encouraged to see the club supporters clap hands for them when they left the field despite the defeat and draw confidence that this is a sign that the football they want to play fans will love

“That’s the love of Chiefs. That’s where even I, as an individual, walking into the village is what you feel.

“This shows that these people love this team and if we play the brand of football that everyone wants to see, it means we have one foot in the right direction, the other will come.”