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Motaung: Players are now responding to Middendorp

Cape Town - Kaizer Chiefs football manager Bobby Motaung believes former coaches Giovanni Solinas and Steve Komphela were quality, and the club believe in current incumbent Ernst Middendorp.

Komphela spent three seasons with Chiefs from 2015 until 2018 but failed to win any trophies during that period of time.

Meanwhile, Solinas was appointed ahead of the 2018/19 campaign but failed to deliver good results and football.

In December they parted ways with the Italian and hired Middendorp instead.

Nonetheless, Motaung, affectionately known as 'Bobsteak' by supporters due to his healthy appetite and the fact he is a major figure behind pulling the purse strings at Naturena, says all three have top qualities.

He told Sowetan: "He (Solinas) wasn't a disappointment. Things just did not work out for him.

"I don't like talking behind coaches' backs but we talked (with Solinas), settled and agreed that players were not responding to him.

"He was a professional coach. He is not bad quality in terms of work ethic and it happens.

"Players must respond to the stature, character and philosophy and to the way you work and in his case they did not respond.

"We had coach Steve Komphela who did well for us but trophies were not coming.

"Every coach has his own challenges and things didn't work out with both Solinas and Steve. We have not achieved what we want to achieve yet and it is too early to comment on those things.

"But the most important thing is that players are responding to Ernst. It is not to compare and regret what happened.

"We have had coaches in the past who were like Solinas and things didn't work out and they left. We have had coaches who were not as high-profile as him but they achieved.

"I can't criticize and mention names of the other coaches but they have won trophies and they never had the same work ethic as Solinas."

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