Kaizer Chiefs interim head coach Cavin Johnson says it’s imperative to get Nkosingiphile Ngcobo back to full fitness as he’ll become a key figure for the club.
The 23-year-old playmaker made his first league start for the club since the opening game of the season and showed glimpses of his quality over an hour on the pitch.
At times, the Cape Town Spurs players struggled to get near him as he orchestrated several of Chiefs’ attacks in the 3-2 win over the Urban Warriors.
But after being left out of the starting line-up eight times in the last nine games, questions were raised about why he’s been on the periphery if he’s able to make Amakhosi tick.
“Mshini is the young Kaizer Chiefs player of the future, I think he just misses out on a lot of match fitness but he has a big injury, a lot of you know that he’s just come back, he was out for I think six months,” Johnson said.
“He’s just come back this season and shown his capabilities and if we can get him back ASAP where he should be then he will play more often.”
Despite the win, conceding four goals, two against Spurs and two in the 2-1 defeat to Golden Arrows in Johnson’s first two games is admittedly a concern heading into the Soweto Derby this weekend, but the former Al Ahly assistant coach was calm about it.
“That’s not an overnight solve, I think it’s also the pairing of the two centre-backs, left-back and right-back, how they compliment each other,” Johnson explained.
“We’ve noted that we’ve conceded four goals in two games, it’s not good for a team as big as Kaizer Chiefs, but like all other teams, we will look at it and try and repair it.”
Chiefs will look to maintain their winning ways when they host Orlando Pirates on Saturday at the FNB Stadium (15h30).
