Ernst Middendorp has urged both Kaizer Chiefs fans and management alike to "trust the players" following talk over the last two weeks that Amakhosi could slip in the Absa Premiership title as pressure mounts.
The Glamour Boys have suffered back to back defeats against Maritzburg United in the league and Highlands Park in the Nedbank Cup – and will this afternoon face rivals Orlando Pirates in a Soweto Derby clash that will hurt their championship hopes, if they lose.
Will a fixture against the Buccaneers be the perfect way to return to winning ways?
"There's nothing to bounce back from, we are consistent in terms of our position. I think the bigger problem with each and everybody around is that as a team, as a club – it doesn't matter whether it's management or stakeholders – Kaizer Chiefs is not used to it, where we are since five years. They don't know how it is to being on top of the league, being in this position from February going into March," Middendorp said.
"I think this is something you start to discuss, to trust the players, the team we have seen over a period of seven or eight months. This is something that has to be recognised – it's very crucial."
The coach insists his side, still enjoying a four points lead at the top of the log, have not become a struggling team overnight.
"We have won games where I was not happy with the performance, and we lost games, like against SuperSport United, where I think it was a good performance, but the results was not okay. I think when you've had 13 to zero attempts on goal against Maritzburg United, it tells you the story of that game. We are critical of ourselves. And the cup game was a splash game, a game in a swimming pool and I understand why the referee didn't give a penalty situation because maybe they think it was slippery. These were the concerns, not that the grass was too long," Middendorp said.
