Former Kaizer Chiefs defender Derick Spencer says it would be unfair to call Nasreddine Nabi’s debut season a failure in the context of where the club was upon his arrival.
Nabi has come under immense pressure in recent weeks but received a major reprieve in terms of fan support with the elimination of Mamelodi Sundowns to seal a place in the Nedbank Cup final for a Soweto Derby affair against rivals Orlando Pirates.
They were not in contention for the MTN8, thrashed 4-0 by Sundowns in the Carling Knockout quarter-finals and in the league also flattered to deceive in a rather inconsistent season for the Tunisian.
But Spencer, who was part of a famed squad between 2004 and 2008, that won the league, two Telkom Knockout titles, Nedbank Cup and the MTN8 twice feels it’s too early to judge his tenure.
“It’s been up and down, not the season we really wanted but with all the changes we made with the new coach coming in, the new players, because half the team is new players who came in, so it’s not an overnight thing,” Spencer said at the SuperSportBet media event.
“It’s not an overnight thing for players to gel, finding their combinations, I would say this season was a building phase for the coach in his first season. Hopefully with the cup, it shows something is happening, we’re in a final now after how many years.
“If we win this cup, I think it will be a good confidence booster going into next season, which we’re expecting Chiefs… the coach would have settled down and players as well.”
Nabi signed a three-year deal to succeed Molefi Ntseki as head coach at Naturena, this after Cavin Johnson saw out a miserable campaign for Amakhosi as interim coach, in which they finished 10th place, their lowest league finish in the Premier Soccer League era.
“It’s been pressure [for Nabi]… the pressure it boils down to all these other years that Chiefs hasn’t been doing well, so obviously when someone comes in, whoever comes in now, you will expect them to… from the word go, win, which is not possible,” Spencer said.
“Half the team is new players, first time [Nabi] is coming to work in South Africa, the language barrier, it’s not been easy for him. It would be unfair for me to say he’s failed this season. There’s some good and some bad, there’s a lot of positives, we’re in a final now.
“For the first time [since 2019]… I would give him another season, because this season was to put the team together to build for next season. I think next season the pressure will be on him to win and compete for the league.”
Chiefs now turn their attention to the league, with an away trip to Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday (17h30).
