Arthur Zwane hints at Kaizer Chiefs transfer plans, insists Amakhosi had a 'productive' season

• Chiefs have concluded their 2022/23 campaign
• Zwane's first-ever season as head coach
• He reflects on this unsuccessful term

WHAT HAPPENED? Kaizer Chiefs have just completed a difficult campaign in which they extended their trophy drought to eight seasons. The Soweto giants' 1-0 Premier Soccer League defeat by 10-man Cape Town City at home on Saturday meant that Chiefs would finish the season in fifth.

Chiefs lost 12 league games, a record number of defeats for them in a season in the PSL era. While Zwane might be judged as one of the worst Amakhosi coaches in recent seasons, the coach is defiant as he focuses on what he thinks is a lot of positives to take from the campaign.

WHAT ZWANE SAID: “If there's one thing football taught me it is never be in the game if you don't have a big heart. In football you develop a thick skin. I'm not the first coach that's been in this [under fire] situation,” said Zwane as per Sowetan Live.

“But I've [previously] been a supporting member of the team, supporting other coaches who've been here before. This time around I had to do things the way I thought it would help the team.

“As much as it was a learning season, it was a very ... I would say, a productive one. In terms of learning that I should have done in [certain things] another way.

“That's the only way [you can learn], when you do an introspection. You always know that this is what you should have done here, going forward in terms of players that should come in.

“You'd also learn that this [player], maybe he's got talent but doesn't have the character and so now you look for a character more than the talent. I'm just making an example. For Chiefs you need players who can dig deeper because other teams double and triple their efforts when they play against Chiefs.

“The very same players that you sometimes want to bring to Chiefs do well against us. But when they come to Chiefs they're different players because they can't cope with the pressure and demands of playing for the team of Chiefs' calibre.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Zwane faces an uncertain future amid recent reports suggesting he has lost the backing of the Chiefs leadership. The Amakhosi tactician enjoyed the backing of his bosses for the better part of the season, but now it is believed the situation has changed.

The next few days will be an anxious period for the Soweto giants' fans, who are keen to know what the future holds for their coach, who was attacked by a section of the supporters just over a week ago.

What angered Amakhosi fans is how their team entered the last few games of the season, facing the possibility of finishing the season with at least something in their hands. They had a chance to end an eight-year trophy drought by winning the Nedbank Cup, but Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates knocked them out of the competition at the semi-final stage.

Chiefs also had an opportunity to end the campaign as runners-up to PSL champions Mamelodi Sundowns but they lost ground in that bid. After readjusting their target to finishing third and go to the Caf Confederation Cup, they again missed out on that too.

WHAT NEXT FOR ZWANE? The Amakhosi coach now waits to learn his fate from his bosses at Naturena.

If given the mandate to lead the team next season, Zwane will continue building his squad for next term, and this time around, he would be expected to be spot-on in terms of transfers.