Johannesburg - Arthur Zwane knew that accepting the opportunity to be Kaizer Chiefs’ head coach was going to test his character, hence he had to have a thick skin.
After spending more than two decades at the club, as a player and youth coach, Zwane ascended to the head coach position in June, taking over the first team reins.
But that got off to a mixed start as Chiefs blew hot and cold in their bid to revive themselves and crawl back to winning ways after a seven-year trophy drought.
Amid the pressure to revive the team and win matches, naysayers believed that Zwane was out of his depth and didn't deserve the head coach position.
He survived, though, as Chiefs reached the MTN8 semi-finals, while he did enough to earn the bragging rights after beating arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in the Premiership.
Zwane will be eager to complete a double over Pirates when they clash in the Carling Black Label semis on Saturday at FNB Stadium.
But for now, though, he is just grateful that his thick skin has ensured he weathered several storms after completing the first half of the season with Amakhosi.
“It was quite tough, very stressful. But that was understandable, at the same time, it comes with the demands of being the coach of Chiefs,” Zwane said.
“So luckily for me, I grew up in this environment. As a player, and now as a coach, I think I’ve seen it all and experienced a lot of things in the period.
“When I was given the opportunity, I expected such things to happen. I knew it wasn't going to be rosy, and my character was going to be tested as well.
“It was also going to improve my intelligence. I am where I am because of a lot of people that played a role in helping me to be the person that I am.”