Ertugral hints on Kaizer Chiefs players’ disenchantment

Veteran coach Muhsin Ertugral has suggested that Kaizer Chiefs interim co-mentors Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef might have lost the dressing room, hence the South African’s giants continued dip in form.

The former AmaKhosi coach is never shy to speak on sticky matters affecting the Betway Premiership. Having managed Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Mpumalanga Black Aces, Ajax Cape Town and Cape Town City, the voice of the Turkish-born coach carries weight and authority.

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In keeping with his tradition, Ertugral has joined the debate on the continued struggles of the ailing Soweto giants, who seem headed for a trophyless season. Under the tutelage of Kaze and Ben Youssef, the Glamour Boys have already exited the CAF Confederation Cup, Carling Knockout Cup and Nedbank Cup.

Ertugral poses questions that hinge on Caze and Ben Youssef

The South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) multiple silverware-winner suggested that the problems at Naturena are far much deeper than what most see on the surface.

“Everyone is voicing his opinion,” Ertugral said. “But I think most [of it] is on the surface. For a club like Kaizer Chiefs, I experienced myself, the situation is a bit more complex than most often think,” he said.

“When a top team with huge history the results are going wrong, the first reaction like everywhere is ‘change the coach’. That’s the usual the cycle. But when things still don’t improve, something else begins to happen inside the dressing room.”

How players revolt silently against coaches

The Turkish-born mentor suggested that coaches lose the dressing room when players feel they have the quality to deliver the goods but are not receiving corresponding technical direction.

“Players naturally will go into survival mode,” the PSL veteran explained. “Each one starts protecting his own performance and his own future. From my own experience point, these reactions sometimes make the team maybe slightly better for a while.

“The picture will change when the squad actually has a reasonable level of quality and still does not reach the expected potential. That’s the time the dressing room quietly starts feeling that the issue lies in the technical direction. We have a word for it: ‘disenchanted.’

Ertugral added: “It’s not really against the technical squad or it is not laziness and for me not even open conflict. It is actually the moment when players stop believing in the process, the system, or a tactical decision they have being asked to follow.”

Ertugral dissects Chiefs as trophyless season looms

Hopes of Chiefs winning the Betway Premiership are fast fading on the horizon. After round 18 of games, AmaKhosi are placed sixth in the standings, 14 points off the pace with joint leaders Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns.

Obviously, such struggles even after buying players with reasonable quality over the last two seasons, has left many unanswered questions.

In view of that, Ertugral’s assessment of the happenings at Naturena seems well informed considering that he managed the team in the early 2000.