Nabi calls for patience after defeat, says Chiefs are rebuilding

Neville Khoza Sports Journalist
Nasreddine Nabi, head coach of Kaizer Chiefs during the Betway Premiership match between Richards Bay and Kaizer Chiefs at King Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium on March 16, 2025 in Durban, South Africa.
Nasreddine Nabi, head coach of Kaizer Chiefs during the Betway Premiership match between Richards Bay and Kaizer Chiefs at King Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium on March 16, 2025 in Durban, South Africa.
Image: Darren Stewart

Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has once again emphasised the need for patience at the club and trust in the process despite suffering their ninth defeat of the season when they lost 2-0 to Richards Bay in the Betway Premiership match at King Zwelithini Stadium on Sunday.

The defeat was a blow for Chiefs, who remained in eighth place in the log table with 29 points from 22 matches.

We are in the process of rebuilding a team and a big club such as Kaizer Chiefs is not built in six or seven months, you need more time than that,
Nasreddine Nabi

After the side's inconsistent run, the pressure continues to mount on Nabi, but the Tunisian coach remains optimistic that he will turn the fortunes around and believes they are on the right track.

“We are in the process of rebuilding a team and a big club such as Kaizer Chiefs is not built in six or seven months, you need more time than that,” Nabi told the media during the post-match press conference.

“We know exactly what we need to have a better team or club. And it is not today because we are losing and tomorrow when we are winning and say the opposite. I have to emphasise that we are in the building process and we know exactly what we need.”

Fezile Gcaba and Yanele Mbuthuma scored in the second half to hand Bay the maximum points. In their last five league matches, Amakhosi have only managed to find the back of the net twice and have not scored in their previous two.

Nabi is now looking forward to the Fifa international break to work on a few things before their next fixture against Golden Arrows on March 30 at Mpumalanga Stadium.

“I think we play games every three days and there is not much you can work on when you play every three days. We have been struggling in that area and we hope that with the international break, we can work on certain things,” he said.

“After they scored early in the second half, the team became nervous as they tried to come back and when you do that, you leave a lot of spaces behind, which they took advantage of to score the second goal.

“Against a low block like how they were playing, a lot of people inside and around the box, we tried to do combinations and make crosses.

“But we were lacking a little bit of a big striker that can fight for the ball and we have to give credit to Richards Bay; they fought for the three points.”

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