Da Cruz thanks Kaizer Chiefs board for support after CAF Confederation Cup exit

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Fernando da Cruz has thanked Sporting Director Kaizer Motaung Jr and the club’s board for publicly backing him after the team were eliminated from the CAF Confederation Cup last week.

The show of support followed a continental campaign that raised questions about Chiefs’ performances and results. Da Cruz said, however, that the board’s stance was the result of regular discussions between the technical team and club management, rather than a reaction to one result.

The Frenchman said he meets Motaung Jr every three weeks to review the team and discuss the wider project at Kaizer Chiefs. He added that the club’s priority was to improve regardless of whether the side wins, draws or loses.

“First thing I would like to thank the club for the statement, I would like to thank the Sporting Director and the whole board for the statement they made,” Da Cruz said.

“And then you must know, it’s very clear, inside the club, every three weeks, we have a meeting with the Sporting Director to speak about the team and the project of the club.

“The confidence he’s given us is very important for the daily work that we do, where even if we win, draw or lose, we need to analyse the situation very well.”

Injuries have affected Chiefs, says Da Cruz

Kaizer Chiefs responded to the board’s backing with a 3-0 victory against TS Galaxy in their Carling Knockout Cup Last-16 tie on Tuesday.

Wandile Duba scored his first senior career hat-trick as Amakhosi progressed, but Da Cruz insisted the result had not altered his view of his own work as a coach.

He said the CAF Confederation Cup elimination had not changed his approach and that his ability should not be judged by a single match or outcome.

“In our meeting we always speak to improve the team every day, and today I’m not a better coach than last week just before we were eliminated from the CAF Confederation Cup,” he added.

“The board is there and the Sporting Director is there every day to see the commitment of the staff and the entire technical staff. When we analyse the situation you can see we have been unlucky because during all our draws that we made, we deserved to win.”

Da Cruz also pointed to the number of injuries suffered by the squad, saying many had resulted from contact situations.

“In terms of injuries, we have been very unlucky, we have many injured with contact injuries, so we’re very unlucky related to that.”