Rudolph Seale: Employing Ernst Middendorp as Kaizer Chefs coach is a temporary measure

Former Kaizer Chiefs defender Rudolph Seale says he saw coach Giovanni Solinas' departure coming, but he laments the timing of the Italian's sacking.

Amakhosi announced the former Free State Stars mentor's sacking on Friday and immediately appointed Ernst Middendorp as he returned to lead the Soweto giants.

“I saw it coming, but it has happened when time is no longer on their side. I think they are still looking for a good coach to challenge for trophies in my opinion,” Seale told Goal.

“For now, this is all about doing damage control and no ambitions of challenging for the league title, things are not looking good now especially after playing 14 games and sitting at the number seven,” he added.

“I don't think we have a chance to win a trophy as Chiefs because this is all about employing someone who is better than Solinas. To be honest I don't understand why Ernst. I was hoping for someone new, with a new philosophy because Middendorp has been at the club, been around at clubs such as Free State Stars, Bloemfontein Celtic and Maritzburg United – it's just recycling coaches,” lamented the legend.

“This is not a permanent move or appointment, but a temporary measure in my opinion. I think someone with a track record of winning trophies is needed especially someone who has won the league,” he added.

Speaking about going forward, Amakhosi are out of the race to win the Premier Soccer League (PSL) trophy, but have a chance to challenge for the Caf Confederation Cup and the Nedbank Cup titles.

However, the former left back believes there are slim chances to go for the two trophies, but says miracles do happen in football where the unexpected can happen.

Moreover, he said there are too many youngsters in the Chiefs squad and said it's only a few of experienced players such as Itumeleng Khune and Bernard Parker who can instil discipline and fear when it comes to donning and giving all for the gold and black jersey.

“Solinas was a failure in my opinion because he always apologised whenever the team loses. That brought pressure on him and he shot himself in the foot by doing so,” he continued.

“By offering an apology, he implied that they will improve in their next matches, but things fell apart. I don't think the players were an issue here because there are those who were brought in and are basically meeting the Chiefs standard,” he reflected.

“Look, coming to the players, I think players are too many youngsters and are not scared of playing for Chiefs these days because there is only Khune and Parker to be scared of,” noted Gardner.

“I am not saying they can operate like they used to back in our days where we had players such as Howard Freese, Mark and Neil Tovey. My point is that I am going to what Khune said after losing to Orlando Pirates that some of the players do not deserve to wear that jersey,” he explained.

“We used to be scared when playing for the club with teammates such as Freese and Tovey. They will shout at you before Jeff (Butler) would shout at you, but someone can say Pirates also have youngsters yet they do deliver,” he added.

“On the other hand, we have to look at clubs such as Cape Town City and SuperSport United who are always in cup finals, but we can't say the same about Chiefs. To be honest I don't think they have a chance to fight for trophies as things stand, but I can contradict myself by saying football is capable of producing miracles,” responded Seale.

“Let's just hope for the best now going forward. It's not looking good for the club, but if they can finish in the top four, reach a final or a semi-final then we can say it was not a bad season because it's too late now. For me, I believe the next season will be better for the club,” concluded the Soweto-born legend.