Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has explained why he kept Nkosana Mbuthu on the pitch despite the youngster's error leading to Young Africans' goal.
Amakhosi suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Young Africans in the inaugural Toyota Cup, played in front of a packed Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
It was the first match for the Tunisian tactician in South Africa after taking over at Chiefs in the off-season.
Nabi suffered defeat at the hands of his former club, Young Africans. He had left them at the end of the 2022/23 season to join AS FAR Rabat before taking over at the Soweto giants.
Chiefs conceded most goals on Saturday through individual mistakes including Mbuthu’s one where he gave the ball away to the opponents who then rattled the back of the net to get the second goal just before halftime.
This was the first match for the 19-year-old having not pulled on the first team shirt before. Nabi explained that he kept him on the pitch to avoid damaging his confidence.
NABI ON WHY HE DIDN’T MBUTHU OFF THE FIELD
“Yes, as you know Mbuthu is a younger player. I'm sure he is a big player in the future. Firstly, I don't have a left-back at this moment and he is left. But it's normal to lose in a friendly game like that,” said Nabi.
“If you don't lose now, it's not an outstanding game to lose. I'm assisting him. I don't push him out because I want to give him confidence, I'm happy for his performance.
“If I take him out, I kill him directly. My responsibility is to protect him, to progress and to improve in the future.”
Chiefs still have some time to prepare the team for next season. They will jet off to Botswana later this month to play some friendlies before the commencement of the Betway Premiership.
