Kaizer Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi is pleading with the club’s fans to allow him to build a strong team and not have trophies expectations.
Amakhosi get their 2024/25 Betway Premiership campaign underway with an away tie to newcomers Marumo Gallants, in what will be the Moroccan mentor’s first official match for his new employers.
The Glamour Boys finished in a disappointing 10th place last term to miss out on the MTN8 competition and extend their trophy drought to over nine years.
The 59-year-old, who expressed his excitement at the new challenge ahead, equally asked the Khosi faithful to manage expectations on the silverware front.
“I want to speak honestly with the fans,” Nabi said during the Betway Premiership launch via his translator.
“For myself, it’s necessary to build first a strong team. After if you build a strong team, you talk for the winners for the cups.
“It’s not possible you finish 10th and you wanna talk now for the cups or you win the league. It’s not like that.
“I don’t want to speak what the fans loves to speaks. I want [to be] realist because I respect this club and I respect this fans.
“The team – I need to build a strong league team, but stay patient, stay patient. We starting this building – we starting. I don’t need confusion. No!
“Positive or negative, I don’t want confusion, but I want passion and space, and comprehension. Because it’s like that football. It’s like that. I don’t want talk populist coach.
“If you respect Kaizer Chiefs, if you respect the fans of Kaizer Chiefs, you will talk honestly with the fans of Kaizer Chiefs.
“But we work hard with the big energy, with the challenge. I love this challenge. I love my players. I love my fans. Me, myself I will give 200% but I know what direction I take – which direction I take.
“We [technical team] have experience for the challenge like this because I live before same challenge.
“I know what is my direction, and I’m not afraid for the pressure. I love the challenge,” Nabi further added.
