Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela says the trio of Hendrick Ekstein, Ryan Moon and Emmanuel Letlotlo require patience from the club's fans if they are to succeed.
Letlotlo was promoted to the first team following his eye-catching performances in the MultiChoice Diski Challenge, whereby the 21-year-old scooped the top goalscorer award in the reserve league.
Komphela defended his decision to hand the youngster a starting berth in the Soweto giants' most recent outing against Golden Arrows, which saw a section of Chiefs fans calling for the coach to substitute the youngster.
"We just need a bit of patience from our people with regards to them," Komphela told KickOff.
"Letlotlo is one hell of a player and we know him from the MDC. It’ll take a bit of time for the youngster to settle, but he needs our support," he added.
The forward has not managed to find the back of the net in the five encounters he's played in thus far for Chiefs, and Komphela says he will not bow to the pressure of fans, saying that he would rather support and protect his players.
"Regarding changing Letlotlo, we already made a decision that on our left side we needed to bring in (Edmore) Chirambadare because he has been consistent in previous matches and ‘Tight’ [Joseph Molangoane] was doing well on the right," he explained.
"We had made our minds and we discussed that;, it was just the question of time. I had to delay the substitution because the minute you take out the youngster after being hustled, it’s like you as the coach also agrees on such.
"Our job as coaches is to protect the player. There’s a lot that he can learn and there’s lot that he can offer," he concluded.
