With Kaizer Chiefs supporters divided on whether head coach Nasreddine Nabi should continue for a second season, the side's former coach, Ernst Middendorp, has offered his verdict.
After 20 league games last season, Chiefs were seventh in the standings with 29 points.
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In comparison to the current campaign, they are placed eighth with 28 points from the same number of matches, which means, statistically, the team has not improved in the league under the Tunisian and are basically on the same level as last term.
Or slightly worse.
What Nabi has improved a little bit, based on the stats, however, is that they are still in the Nedbank Cup quarter finals, after being knocked out in the first round in 2023/24.
Middendorp, who had two spells in charge of the Soweto giants, envied the luxury given to the Tunisian to Nabi to bring his own technical team.
"Bringing coach Nabi, a technical team expertise in different areas, in terms of conditioning, analysis, goalkeeping, every other department that is requested in the modern game," Middendorp said on SoccerBeat YouTube Channel.
"Chiefs, for the first time, not (only) brought Middendorp as a coach, (Gavin) Hunt as a coach, they brought in a (whole) technical team, and that's a different dimension. Bringing a technical team of five guys who are sorting out different areas, with certain expertise.
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"I don't know what is going on with the scouting, who is making the final decisions in terms of which players are needed. They brought a lot players, meaning the technical team must have been involved.
"If Chiefs made this decision, with a huge technical team, there's no way they can stop after five, six months. They have to give it at least a run into the second season and see if there's success," the eccentric coach, currently at Cape Town Spurs, added.
The sentiment on Nabi's suitability could improve if the side progresses to the Nedbank Cup semi-finals, but the head coach could be under serious pressure if they get knocked out by Stellenbosch FC on Saturday evening.