Molefi Ntseki took the Kaizer Chiefs coaching job knowing he had to hit the ground running to win over the fans.
But with Chiefs having a turbulent start to the season, he seems to have all but conceded that he’s struggling and his job is on the line.
Chiefs bowed out of the opening round of the inaugural Carling Knockout on Saturday night, losing 1-0 to AmaZulu at home.
Chiefs’ angry fans didn’t take kindly to the result, pelting the team with missiles as they headed to the dressing room causing Ntseki to abandon his post-match TV duties.
It isn’t the first time Ntseki was a victim of hooliganism from his own fans, with the club already fined three times by the PSL DC for bringing the league into disrepute.
As a result of those three incidents, Chiefs are expected to play behind closed doors in their next home game. But what does the future hold for Ntseki?
“I don’t think that’s a question that needs to be answered now because I am employed by the club,” he said at FNB Stadium after the game.
“We have technical conversations; we look into incidents like this and we have meetings to discuss what are possibilities going forward.
“For you to ask how I see my future at Kaizer Chiefs, I don’t think this is a platform (the post-match press conference) to entertain that question.
“At the end of the day, it’s football, you win some and you lose some. The day you get hired, the door is opened for you to exit and that’s football for us,” he said.
“If you don’t get results, you should be ready to get fired but the manner in which it’s happening is actually not the Kaizer Chiefs way.”
Ntseki concedes that it’s been hard to prepare and play given the scrutiny he and the players are under.
“When you prepare, you prepare to win. And when you lose games like these you ask yourself what is going to happen at the end of the game,” he said.
“I don’t think that’s a good thing for football. It has turned out to be more like every training session or game you’ve had is your last – because you are worried about the result.”
Ntseki might have made himself the sacrificial lamb of the team but he’s more worried that he can’t shut out the hostile environment from affecting the players.
“When you are not getting results and you own up as a coach. But when things like these (hooliganism) happen repeatedly, it’s not only affecting the coach but players as well,” he said.
“When they get here and see what happens to the coach when they lose matches, it’s also a reflection on them to say ‘what if tomorrow I’m the next one when I didn’t play well?’.”
@ScribeSmiso