Brandon Petersen rubbishes notion of Nasreddine Nabi jinx as Kaizer Chiefs host Marumo Gallants - 'We have always been the same'

Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Brandon Petersen has dismissed talk that the Soweto giants have performed better without Nasreddine Nabi on the bench.

Amakhosi are finalising the process of parting ways with Nabi after the Tunisian was with the club for just over a season. 

Already this season, Chiefs have been involved in three Premier Soccer League games without Nabi, who was in his home country attending to his wife, who had been involved in an accident.

The 60-year-old also did not travel to Angola for last Saturday's CAF Confederation Cup match against Kabuscorp. 

“We've always been the same when coach Nabi was there and when he wasn't there. For us, it's important to respect whoever is in charge because our job is to play football and listen to the coaches and do what we are instructed to do," said Petersen as per Sowetan Live.
“At the end of the day, it's just football... coaches come and go. The main thing for us is to stay focused. We have back-to-back games, and I think it's important to try and focus on the job at hand because at the end of the day, our job is to play football.
“It's not for us to panic. We can't start to doubt ourselves. We've proven to ourselves that we're capable of doing well, defending well and not conceding goals. So, I think we just need to take a step back and analyse ourselves, see where it went wrong, and we have an opportunity to correct whatever we've got wrong against Marumo." 

The notion that Chiefs thrive when Nabi is not with the team might have been dispelled when the team lost 1-0 to Kabuscorp last Saturday without the former Young African coach.

This belief came after Amakhosi won three straight PSL matches when Nabi was away in Tunisia with his assistants Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef in charge.

On his return, Nabi saw the Soweto giants dropping points for the first time this season following a 0-0 draw with Mamelodi Sundowns, and he led their bench when they lost for the first time this term, falling 3-1 to Sekhukhune United last week.

Amakhosi are preparing to host Marumo Gallants in a league match, keen to end their two-match losing run.

 Kaze and Ben Youssef are expected to continue in charge until Amakhosi find a substantive replacement for Nabi.