Kaizer Chiefs interim coach Arthur Zwane has explained why defender Njabulo Ngcobo was dropped from the match-day squad against Cape Town City.
The reigning Defender of the Season has had a tough campaign so far, first struggling to secure regular game-time under Stuart Baxter before the incident against Golden Arrows.
Zwane had shown his confidence in Ngcobo and started him in his first two games in charge, but the 27-year-old didn’t have a great game at all, costing his side the 1-1 equaliser in the 2-1 defeat.
As a consequence, Zwane opted to take him off, with Ngcobo showing his disappointment, first snubbing a handshake with Dillon Sheppard before clashing with Lee Baxter.
10111, though, had insisted that the player would not be crucified for his antics and Ngcobo also apologised with a public statement.
However, on Saturday, Ngcobo wasn’t in the squad, with Zwane insisting the coaching team are trying to protect him.
“Yes, Njabulo apologised,” Zwane said after the game, when asked by iDiski Times journalist Lorenz Kohler about the player’s absence.
“He’s not in the team because of the incident. We’re trying to protect him. He’s a footballer and you could see, even when he was substituted he was not himself.
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“He made about four to five mistakes, starting from first half and second half unfortunately one of those mistakes was very, very costly and you could see he couldn’t recover from it. So I had to pull him out and save him because I’ve been there before.
“Unfortunately people saw it in a different way. He was very upset with himself because he believes he can do better.
“He knows he came to a club where there is pressure, he also wanted to showcase his talent and perform on the day. Unfortunately it was not his day.
“We’re trying to manage, not only him but we’re trying to manage all the players, who go through different challenges here and there.
“But if he’s ready, mentally-wise, he’ll come back and play again.”
Story by Lorenz Kohler and David Kappel.
