Arthur Zwane has made an honest assessment of his AmaZulu squad after the club reinforced key areas with a number of additions in the transfer window.
Zwane guided Usuthu to a 1-0 victory over Stellenbosch in their Betway Premiership opener at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium on Saturday.
After the match, he admitted that selecting his team has become increasingly challenging because of the depth and quality now at his disposal.
The AmaZulu coach believes the club has made significant progress from last season, particularly in terms of the strength of the bench.
He said the squad now boasts several game changers who can make an impact when called upon, giving him more tactical flexibility throughout matches.
“I’m beginning to have a little bit of a headache in terms of team selection. Last season, it was obvious,” said Zwane.
“This season, we obviously added a bit of quality and competition to the team, which is good for the club. I was just looking at the bench, [the substitutes] we call them game changers.
“At the hotel, we were announcing, starting at 11, that the guys that were going to start on the bench, are game changers. When they come in, we know the positive impact that they need to inject into the squad, into the team, in order for us to get those points.
“I even said to them, I didn’t even know who to start. All of you deserve to start because, even in the pre-season, you were working very well. You worked very hard and we all deserve to start.
“At the end of the day, as a coach, I needed to look at the players that are showing signs of understanding our technical approach, tactical understanding, and the chemistry as well was very, very key.
“So, we couldn’t change the team a lot. We needed to continue where we left off last season, with the seniors leading the young ones.”