Kaizer Chiefs chairman Kaizer Motaung believes that former coach Giovanni Solinas had a better squad at his disposal than former Chiefs mentor Steve Komphela did during his time at the club.

Motaung took to the club’s official website to reflect on the 2018 that was for the Soweto giants, who parted ways with two coaches after a string of disappointing results.

‘As we exit 2018, we reflect on the last 12 months. We didn’t start the season well, which was mostly the result of how we finished the 2017-2018 season. We had the exit of Steve Komphela, which was a sad state of affairs, especially considering how it happened.

‘It’s unfortunate that in this day and age, we still have in our midst people who are uncivilised to the point where they deliberately spoil the work and gains our football has made over the years. We completely condemn those who behave like hooligans. That’s not good for the sport and our country.

‘We know that only a tiny minority of the people at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in April misbehaved. It was good to see that in more recent games our supporters at the same stadium stood together against hooliganism and violence. Football is a game that the country should be proud of, as it unifies people and communities.

‘As regards the team, we had to act to remedy the situation and that’s why we decided to give the coaching reins to Giovanni Solinas. We were disappointed when we realised that we had to make amends once more.

‘The results during the first half of the season were not good, nor were the performances. That’s why we had to fast-track our decision, and accordingly brought in new coach Ernst Middendorp, as well as new assistant coach Shaun Bartlett.

‘Middendorp was at Chiefs before and had a fairly good spell, even though the coach didn’t see the end of the second season. He did, however, win trophies, including the SAA Supa 8, the Absa Cup and the Vodacom Challenge after beating Manchester United in the final.

‘The German comes with a wealth of experience and is the only coach in South Africa who had two opportunities to take charge of a Bundesliga side. Shaun also comes in with much experience, both internationally and locally. On top of that, he gained valuable knowledge during his time as a head coach in recent years.

‘We hope that this pair will take us forward and we are definitely looking for better performances of our first team.

‘As far as acquisitions are concerned, when we brought in Solinas, we had assembled a very good squad, much better than the one Steve Komphela had to work with. We therefore hope that once the team stabilises under the new technical team, we will get results. However, as always, working with a squad of players is work in progress – it’s about constantly making tweaks here and there,’ he concluded.