Steve Komphela reveals disappointments as Kaizer Chiefs coach

Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela has revealed what he regrets the most during his three-year stay at Naturena.

The former Bafana Bafana skipper was in charge of Amakhosi between June 2015 and April 2018 when he resigned following the club's exit from the Nedbank Cup.

Under the guidance of the ex-Free State Stars boss, Chiefs failed to win a major trophy and the manager was heavily criticised for the club’s failures.

Komphela led the Soweto giants to two cup finals - the MTN8 Cup and the Telkom Knockout Cup in his first season, but he failed to claim the gold medal on both occasions.

He lost 1-0 to Ajax Cape Town as well as suffering a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Mamelodi Sundowns, but he said he is happy with is overall contribution to Chiefs.

In the final months of his contract, he faced his former bosses at Ea Lla Koto in the Nedbank Cup semi-finals, yet he failed to reach the final as they lost 2-0 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Resulting from that defeat, the ex-Maritzburg United manager tendered his resignation.

However, speaking to the SABC’s Sports @10 Television programme this week, the Kroonstad-born coach said he respects the people he worked with at Amakhosi.

“I am disappointed that we were so close to winning trophies, yet we did not,” said Komphela.

"The rest of the other stuff which one cannot point at and it's stuff that is not seen, I'm happy,” said the 50-year-old.

"I'm sure apart from winning trophies, when you walk and look back at what you did, you say, 'I think I did justice',” explained the former defender.

"And the most important thing again is, the people you work with have to understand you beyond what others see,” acknowledged Komphela.

“The human element is key, honour, integrity, respect and remaining professional irrespective of circumstances is one of the key elements and characteristics of growing," he concluded.

Meanwhile, the club is yet to announce Komphela’s successor despite speculation that former Ghana coach Avram Grant has emerged as favourite to take over from the former school teacher.