Nasreddine Nabi’s response to Ranga Chivaviro’s booing incident

Speaking after the 4-0 emphatic victory over SuperSport United in the Carling Knockout last 16 this past weekend, Nabi also didn’t seem to have it easy at first when calming down an emotional Chivaviro at halftime.

He was booed by the fans after he missed a sitter in the first half. After scoring the third goal, he ran straight to Nabi to celebrate with him.

"I think our responsibility as a coach is to protect our players, even when they go through some difficult moments. We can't have emotional reactions like fans, that's why we didn't wanna sub him off when he missed those chances and I told him to stay focused we're gonna score. When he scored I was very happy, the trust that we and the club have put in him has paid off," Nabi said.

READ: Brandon Truter reacts to Carling Knockout quarterfinal draw

Chivaviro has scored four goals in an as many matches this season, this is the same number of goals he scored in 23 matches last season in competitions.

Another player getting some attention from Nabi is the club’s much-liked central midfielder and development product, Samkelo Zwane.

The Tunisian-Belgian born head coach started him in the opening game of the season against Marumo Gallants and didn’t play him again, until this past weekend.

He provides the reasons.

"It's true that Zwane has worked a lot these last few months and we believe that he has changed especially because before there was some tactical issues with him as well as concentration because he's still young,” the coach explained.

“Maybe sometimes he wants to do some unnecessary things but we believe that through games like that, that those young players are gonna grow."

Zwane, the son of former Jomo Cosmos and Orlando Pirates winger Euguene Zwane, is part of the group of youngsters that Nabi is forming his regular squad around, including Mdu Shabalala, Wandile Duba, and Mfundo Vilakazi.