Kaizer Chiefs co-coach assesses Luke Baartman after making long-awaited debut but warns, 'the most important thing is the team and not individual players'

Former Cape Town Spurs forward Luke Baartman finally made his Kaizer Chiefs official debut.  

The youngster came on for Lehlogonolo Matlou in the 80th minute as Amakhosi were frustrated by another goalless draw by TS Galaxy.

Khalil Ben Youssef, while assessing Baartman's performance, explained why they made the substitutions they did and what made them settle for the players that start and those that come in later.

"I think all the players deserve to play – we have a big squad now, there is a lot of competition between the players, and for us as coaches, we are with them in training sessions and see which players are more ready for the game," Ben Youssef said after the game, as per SABC Sports.

"Also, we prepared the plan of the game; we know when we have to make substitutions at the right moments. Baartman came in around 80 minutes and played very well in the last 10 minutes, creating a lot of opportunities for us.

"But we have to continue to work; the most important thing is the team and not the [individual] players." 

The coaches have been tweaking their squads in recent days, making some argue that they are experimenting and are yet to have their trusted starting line-ups.

But Ben Youssef argues otherwise. 

"Aiden McCarthy was out because he got injured, and then if the player who takes his position is performing well, what do we have to do? We have a big squad; we have to manage the load," the Tunisian said.

"If you are not with us in training, then you won't know why we make certain substitutions – if you ask me, we can answer, but to say it's experimental – we are not experimenting.

"We have been with the team for more than one season, and we know all the players. We are working with the team, and we know which team to select, and we're working together as a technical staff and board. We know what we are doing, and we are not here to experiment."

Before the Premier Soccer League break that is coming as national teams focus on the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals, the Glamour Boys had a chance to go level with Orlando Pirates at the top of the PSL standings.

However, the Soweto giants squandered the chance as they were held to goalless draws by struggling Chippa United and TS Galaxy.

Although points were dropped, Ben Youssef is happy with how the players performed. 

“I think both games [against Chippa and Galaxy], we said the same thing. The most important thing is the performance of the team," Youssef explained, as per FARPost.

“We dominated in both games and created a lot of opportunities, but we have the same problem in the last third. We are unlucky not to score. But now we have this break to fix this problem and to think about how we can continue [moving] forward.

“We are so happy about the performance of the team in the last few games. I think the team performed very well. But we are all frustrated about missing points because we are not scoring the opportunities we get," he added.

“We have to continue to work and fix this problem. Then I think the most important thing is the performance of the team.

"When the team is performing well, we don’t have to be scared. But when the team is not performing well, that’s a real problem for us," the Tunisian concluded.