Kaizer Chiefs care-taker coach Cavin Johnson has explained why Njabulo Ngcobo was preferred over Zitha Kwinika and Thatoyaone Ditlhokwe after not featuring in any of their last three games.
Ngcobo was in the starting XI that drew 2-2 with TS Galaxy at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in the league on Tuesday night and played the full match.
Kwinika and Ditlhokwe came on as second-half substitutes, as Amakhosi stayed in eighth position on the log with 34 points.
Johnson explained that the changes were due to several reasons, including the red the card to Edmilson Dove in the first half of the match, trying to be consistent in selection and managing illnesses and injuries at this time of the season.
“In respect to TT, respect to Njabulo and respect to Kwinika, I think the left- and the right-back we had Reeve and Sol there last week and they did well,” Johnson told the media.
“I know Kwinika came in as a right centre-back and TT played as left-back [but] that is only because of Dove being sent off.
“And Njabulo, in reality he was still recovering from flu. So we had to keep him on ice and make sure that we try and get by for that but selections are selections. I think whoever plays for Chiefs in whatever position and you’re available to play then you must play.
“We’d like to also in all respect, all the coaches we like to play the same 11 every day in order to maintain stability but you know how it works in football.
“You have to get the changes and sometimes the changes are a lot more than what you’d like to do.
“It comes either with illness, with injuries and sometimes you have four or five injuries out in one game and the other time you have, especially this time of the season, change of season, everybody gets flu, everybody gets COVID, everybody goes down.
“So it’s these areas that we as technical people have to do a lot of, not soul-searching but a lot of movement within the team.”