Johannesburg - Disgruntled Orlando Pirates fans hoping to see the back of Eric Tinkler will be disappointed to hear the under-fire coach enjoys the backing of his chairman. Ditto for Kaizer Chiefs supporters, who feel Steve Komphela is out of his depth at Amakhosi.
Irvin Khoza and Kaizer Motaung gave their unequivocal support to their embattled coaches, who both go into Saturday’s Soweto derby at the FNB Stadium on the back of defeats and below-par displays in the PSL.
Pirates boss Khoza said on Wednesday it would be folly to allow supporters’ emotions to dictate his actions. “It is important to give the coach support,” he said at the JSE where he, Motaung and Jomo Sono were honoured as “Fathers of the Game” and allowed to open the market.
“Supporters are emotional. They want a win (at all costs) and they are not rational. (But) for now we are not panicking,” he said.
“We had a meeting where we reassured the entire technical team that we they have our backing. Let’s give them our support and let’s soldier on (with them).”
Chiefs’ Motaung said he was not going to have his hand forced by irate fans who do not understand what it takes to build a successful soccer team.
“I don’t think we’re supposed to have a knee-jerk reaction to any situation. If we do that it will seem like we don’t know what we are doing,” he said.
“We won’t react just based on the result (of the derby) but we will look at all the factors. You fire a coach on facts and proper analysis of the situation.”
Motaung added that while he understood football is an emotive game, it was important that clubs made their followers realise that decisions won’t be made to satisfy their whims.
“We need to educate our supporters,” he said, giving the example of Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane, who earlier in the season had to run the gauntlet of an irate crowd calling for his dismissal, to illustrate the importance of standing by one’s coach.
“Pitso was pelted with missiles after matches but he is now on top (of the PSL table) and he has already won a trophy,” Motaung said.
“Even us, when we brought Stuart (Baxter, their previous coach) here, people were emotional because they believed he was not the right man for the job after his poor record with Bafana Bafana. But look at what he did for us.”
Khoza admitted that it had been painful to see Pirates languishing in the lower standings of the top-flight log, but he said they are seeing the struggle as an opportunity for the entire club to grow.
“We’ve never had this slump, although in 1985 we were nearly relegated. We’re now number 11 and it is not a comfortable position to be there,” he said.
“But we are seeing this as a learning experience. We need to find corrective measures and do some introspection.”
Cape Argus