Kaizer Chiefs’ interim coach Cavin Johnson.
(Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)

• The Chiefs’ interim coach believes that the team will be a much more improved unit next year after finetuning them during the Africa Cup of Nations break.
• Johnson hasn’t hidden his intentions of getting the job on a permanent basis, and he is saying and doing the right things that could land him the gig.
• But that could put the club in a difficult position as any sign of a bad patch could be met with anger from the supporters while a new coach will need time – something that Chiefs can’t offer him.
• For more sports news, go to the News24 Sport front page. 

The painkillers that Kaizer Chiefs took while waiting for a much-needed operation has numbed the pain so much that the club could be tempted to delay going under the knife, perhaps until after May. 

Cavin Johnson has awoken something from Amakhosi during his short stint as interim coach, a role he was thrown into from the club’s youth structures in October after the abrupt firing of coach Molefi Ntseki just four months into his tenure.

Ntseki’s sacking highlighted deep-rooted problems at the club, not just that they had the wrong man in charge of leading Chiefs out of their worst spell in the club’s history – but it also brought into sharp focus the way the team has been managed, the club’s acquisition of talent and the lack a killer instinct in the players at the club. 

That firing, of a man that the club’s chairman Kaizer Motaung believed would surprise the supporters who were not happy with his hiring, showed that Amakhosi needed a massive operation if they are to end a trophy drought that is now stretching into its ninth year. The club don’t just need a new coach, but also a bold and clear vision of how they will return the glory days. 

Since Johnson took over, he has been able to numb but not cure the pain – finishing the year by collecting 10 points from a possible 12. Chiefs were able to get positive results in those games even though their performances were ugly.

It’s in contrast to how Chiefs played under Ntseki, with football where you could see his vision and direction without being able to get the needed results. 

“We brought in a little bit more effort, technical and tactical ideas in as far as how the team should play,” Johnson said in response to what has changed since he took over. 

“It has worked! It has worked fast. The players have welcomed it, and they enjoy it. Sometimes it just happens that you bring that with a particular team, and it works. Sometimes I could use the same methodology to another team, and I will fail dismally.” 

Johnson’s good run has put the club in a predicament – get a new coach during the lengthy break due to the Africa Cup of Nations like they said they would, but that person will need time – something that the club doesn’t have. Ntseki wasn’t judged based on what he did or was doing, he was judged based on what the club had failed to do in the seven years before him – failing to win a trophy since 2015. 

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The second option for Chiefs is to stick with Johnson and, at the very least, allow him to finish the season. 

The challenge with that option is that when the club hits a bumpy period, the fans’ anger will be amplified which could be dangerous as they would feel that Chiefs sold them a dummy by promising to hire a coach only to drag that with the interim. 

When supporters were angry, they threw missiles on three occasions during Ntseki’s tenure – which led to the club being slapped with a one-match spectator ban. Johnson has been doing and saying the right things in his audition to be given a chance. 

“This mini break is going to be the hardest that I am going to work because you can’t end 2023 on a high like that and then start 2024 in a different mode,” said Johnson.

If Johnson is to take over the club going forward, his main three priorities will start with improving the club’s attack. Chiefs have been woeful in front of goal. Their hat-trick of wins were all with 1-0 scorelines.

Amakhosi have scored just 16 goals in 16 games. The goal scoring problem is compounded by the club’s strikers struggling to find the back of the net, with midfielder Pule Mmodi leading their scorer’s chart with just four goals. 

Despite that, Johnson insists he will not be pushing to sign a striker during the January transfer window but instead will work on improving what he has. 

The second challenge will be improving the players’ mental strength. The club’s woes, seeing their coach pelted with missiles when things don’t go well, and the long wait for a trophy has led to players capitulating when things don’t go their way. To cure this, the club has hired a psychologist to work with the players.

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Johnson has to add into the work being done by Dr. Henning Gericke. The third will be improving the football. Amakhosi grinded out results towards the end of the year. The fans’ acceptance of dull performances has its limits – especially for a club that prides itself in its sense of style. 

“I am very happy with the amount of points that we have collected, but I am not happy with the way we are displaying the type of football that we can do at training,” said Johnson. 

“When you work with players every day, and you see the execution of certain technical qualities that they have – and you see that they can improve. From a coach’s perspective, we can improve there. From an effort point of view, we are getting there even quicker than I thought we would.”