Many hurdles for new Chiefs coach
Nkareng Matshe
June 21 2007 at 07:12AM
Coach Muhsin Ertugral concluded his day of homecoming at the Kaizer Chiefs Village by climbing up the stairs to officially introduce himself to the club's players on Wednesday.
Although walking up to the first-floor boardroom in which the Amakhosi personnel were waiting would have been of no difficulty for the athletic Ertugral, he would have known that pulling them out of the rut of two years of decline would not be that easy.
Simply assembling a team capable of producing his "biting approach and entertaining football" - as he put it at the preceding press conference - would be as difficult as taking the staircase from the ground floor of the Carlton Centre building up to the final level of the high-rise building.
But Ertugral, in his attempt to take Chiefs back to the top, knows exactly what has got to be done. "I will take it step by step," he said. "This is a big challenge, but I think we'll need four to six months and it should be at the level I want."
The former Ajax Cape Town coach, who will be assisted by Fani Madida, was philosophical when asked whether he planned to overhaul the team, but he made it clear that changes were inevitable.
"My philosophy is to give everyone a chance to start on a clean slate, but there are certain decisions that have already been made. The team needs a biting approach. There's material here already, but you need to combine that with the type that plays quick, entertaining football."
These two words - quick and entertaining - have not been associated with Chiefs for the past 24 months, with their dressing room made up of ageing players. Just where Ertugral will cast his eyes to renew the team is unknown.
Ertugral still had two more years to run with Ajax, but was bought out by Kaizer Motaung, such was his desperation to get him back. At Ikamva, Ajax's official residence, Ertugral has left broken hearts after a highly productive season ended in Absa Cup glory. So why did he leave such a relaxed job for such a demanding one?
"Ajax are great, but with their financial restrictions, I knew that it wouldn't be possible to build a team. I want to win the league and if you have to build a team every season, it becomes difficult," he said.
With Rowen Fernandez having officially left on Wednesday for Arminia Bielefeld, Ertugral has the unenviable task of rebuilding Chiefs from scratch.
There are many hurdles to clear and stairs to climb.
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Nkareng Matshe
June 21 2007 at 07:12AM
Coach Muhsin Ertugral concluded his day of homecoming at the Kaizer Chiefs Village by climbing up the stairs to officially introduce himself to the club's players on Wednesday.
Although walking up to the first-floor boardroom in which the Amakhosi personnel were waiting would have been of no difficulty for the athletic Ertugral, he would have known that pulling them out of the rut of two years of decline would not be that easy.
Simply assembling a team capable of producing his "biting approach and entertaining football" - as he put it at the preceding press conference - would be as difficult as taking the staircase from the ground floor of the Carlton Centre building up to the final level of the high-rise building.
But Ertugral, in his attempt to take Chiefs back to the top, knows exactly what has got to be done. "I will take it step by step," he said. "This is a big challenge, but I think we'll need four to six months and it should be at the level I want."
The former Ajax Cape Town coach, who will be assisted by Fani Madida, was philosophical when asked whether he planned to overhaul the team, but he made it clear that changes were inevitable.
"My philosophy is to give everyone a chance to start on a clean slate, but there are certain decisions that have already been made. The team needs a biting approach. There's material here already, but you need to combine that with the type that plays quick, entertaining football."
These two words - quick and entertaining - have not been associated with Chiefs for the past 24 months, with their dressing room made up of ageing players. Just where Ertugral will cast his eyes to renew the team is unknown.
Ertugral still had two more years to run with Ajax, but was bought out by Kaizer Motaung, such was his desperation to get him back. At Ikamva, Ajax's official residence, Ertugral has left broken hearts after a highly productive season ended in Absa Cup glory. So why did he leave such a relaxed job for such a demanding one?
"Ajax are great, but with their financial restrictions, I knew that it wouldn't be possible to build a team. I want to win the league and if you have to build a team every season, it becomes difficult," he said.
With Rowen Fernandez having officially left on Wednesday for Arminia Bielefeld, Ertugral has the unenviable task of rebuilding Chiefs from scratch.
There are many hurdles to clear and stairs to climb.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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