Kaizer Chiefs head coach Stuart Baxter has revealed how the Covid-19 outbreak at Narurena affected the club last year.
Chiefs’ DStv Premiership games against Cape Town City and Golden Arrows last year couldn’t be played due to a severe coronavirus outbreak at the Village.
Baxter was amongst more than 30 Amakhosi staff members and players who tested positive for the virus, forcing the club to close Naturena at that time.
“It was difficult, it was difficult because I mean, I don’t know if people really understand it, they think people have gone down, they’re sick and then that’s it,” Baxter told reporters.
“We have the quarantine of the people who are not testing positive, you’ve got players missing training, and then coming back and having to go straight into a game, they’re not fit. So, even if they’re on paper on the field we don’t have a full team.
“And you’ve got all of that going on and you’ve got people when they are training, they’ve got to follow the same protocols. I can’t just take them and have them involved in my training. They’re doing a few things with the physio, and then they go to the cardiologist.
“So multiply that by 30 and then the coaching staff, Arthur (Zwane) was out, Sheppy (Dillon Sheppard) was out, then I was out, it was the physios route. If you try to put yourself into that position, and then try to win games of football.”
The Englishman has also revealed how he tried to help his assistant coaches—in giving some tectical help despite being in the quarantine process.
“I thought Arthur and Sheppy did a great job, in terms of we obviously spoke while I was off, and we obviously had meetings and discuss the principles of play and that, but we decided that the coaches on the ground would have to get a bit of leeway because of the own development,” he explained.
“And for the fact I’m not there seeing this man struggling in training can he actually play tonight, this guy needs to come off, and so, I wasn’t like Jürgen Klopp calling the bench and saying get him off, he’s not doing it.
“They had that leeway, but of course, we picked the team together, we decided the tactics together in the principles of play. But we decided that if there’s anything positive, we’re going to come out, it’s going to be impairing them a little to be on the ground and make decisions there. Which I thought they did well because it was a very, very complicated situation.”
