Keagan Dolly calls for fair judgement on Arthur Zwane and Kaizer Chiefs

By Velile Mnyandu
24th February 2023

Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Keagan Dolly says coach Arthur Zwane and the team should be judged only on the current season and not the previous seven unsuccessful seasons.

Zwane goes into tomorrow’s Soweto Derby against archrivals Orlando Pirates under a bit of pressure following last weekend’s shock loss to Golden Arrows, which was the club’s fourth defeat in six DStv Premiership fixtures played in 2023 so far.

Speaking yesterday to the media about the pressure currently on the team, Dolly feels Mangethe and the current squad are being judged unfairly.

"I think the worries are justifiable. As a team like Kaizer Chiefs – one of the big teams in the country, we shouldn't be struggling to fight for number two or three," said Dolly.

"We should be right up there amongst the best and competing for trophies. So we understand their [fans'] anger and concerns for us being inconsistent throughout the season, but also, I think it's a bit unfair towards us because it's not like we're fighting relegation.

"It's a different technical team, it's new players coming into the system, and it's a building phase. When you build something, it takes time, and if they give us a little more time.

"We all know the situation that we're in for the past seven years of not bringing trophies to the club, but there are players that arrived this year so they can't be judged on the other seven years that they weren't part of.

"So, it's a time for [the new players] to build and try their level best to get used to the culture of the club, and just give them time to adjust and then you can judge them."

Dolly, who has been sporting the armband on occasions when club captain Itumeleng Khune is not playing, says the pressure shouldn’t just be reserved for Zwane but everyone in the team.

"I think there should be pressure on all of us, we're all part of the team, we're all playing week in and week out. I think we all know we've had challenges throughout the season, we're trying our level best every day to overcome those challenges and come up with solutions to get better results," he added.

"I think it's been a bit up and down throughout the season, and we all know that – us, as players, the technical staff, we all know that, and we're really trying our best to give more to our supporters."