Makua urges patience before judging Da Cruz at Kaizer Chiefs

Former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Frank Makua says the club should wait until Fernando Da Cruz has overseen at least 15 matches before deciding whether he is the right manager to lead the team.

Chiefs remain without a run of form in the early stages of the season after drawing 1-1 with Stellenbosch at FNB Stadium on Tuesday evening. The result was their third consecutive draw in the Betway Premiership and means they have won only one of their past six matches.

The Soweto club are fourth in the table, nine points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, but Makua believes Da Cruz should not yet be judged on the team’s results.

“I think we still need to give him (Da Cruz) a chance, so far we didn’t lose, so let’s give him that benefit of the doubt and see what’s going on after maybe 15 games and then we can decide whether he is going to give us what we want or not,” Makua told KickOff.

“For now we can’t judge him, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt because he has not lost so we can see how far he can take the team,” he added.

Chiefs were forced to change their midfield against Stellenbosch because of injuries to Lebohang Maboe, Siphesihle Ndlovu and Adolf Bitegeko. Reeve Frosler was used in midfield, rather than his usual position, as Amakhosi attempted to cope with the absences.

Makua said the reshaped side lacked a player capable of controlling the tempo and helping Chiefs build attacks.

“We started on a defensive mode but when the game started to flow, at least we created some chances that we could not convert, especially this boy Duba. But you could tell we missed someone like Maboe in the middle of the park, because he can control the game and he’s good on the ball,” he said.

The former Chiefs midfielder felt the pairing of Frosler and Sibongiseni Mthethwa left the team short of creativity, with both players primarily defensive-minded.

“But with Frosler and (Sibongiseni) Mthethwa, they are both defensive-minded, that’s the problem. It was difficult for us to go forward, especially without the wingers, we could not play with wing-play, we didn’t have that, it was only Monyane and Mako and when they crossed the ball there was no one inside the box, that’s the problem,” Makua said.

“It did affect the team so badly.”

Despite the difficulties, Chiefs recovered from going behind to earn a point against The Maroons. Makua’s assessment comes as the club continue to search for consistency under Da Cruz, with their latest draw extending a sequence of results that has yet to include a defeat but has also produced only one win in their last six matches.