The recently departed midfielder of Kaizer Chiefs, Siyethemba Sithebe, has disclosed that the frequent changes in coaching staff significantly impacted his ability to adapt within the club.
Sithebe joined Amakhosi from AmaZulu at the start of the 2022/23 season, during the tenure of Arthur Zwane, and remained with the team for just two seasons.
The following season, Molefi Ntseki assumed the role of head coach when Zwane was demoted to junior levels.
However, after only three months, Ntseki was dismissed following a disappointing beginning to the 2023/24 season, with Cavin Johnson stepping in as interim coach.
Sithebe, who didn’t play much in his second season with the Soweto giants, expressed that the need to quickly adapt to the varying tactics of different coaches left him feeling bewildered.
He believes that certain coaching styles did not align with his own playing abilities.
SITHEBE ON HOW HE STRUGGLED AT CHIEFS
“I would say that there are things that confuse players because there are different tactics from different coaches,” Sithebe said when asked by FARPost.
“So, according to me, the style of play won’t suit every player, even the players who are playing when a new coach arrives. There’ll be changes. I can say that those things affect players and who they were before the new coach arrived.
“Sometimes you’ll find that players who were not playing are starting to play, and those that were playing are no longer playing. So, such things happen in football.
“From my side also, in my first season, I played enough games, and I’m coming into a big team with a lot of competition, so I can say playing more than 20 games in the first season was good for me.
“In the second season, I was mostly affected by injuries, and in that way, I couldn’t get game-time. I had a two-year contract, and when the season ended, it was not renewed.”
