Ernst Middendorp had better not take too long making himself comfortable in his surroundings back as head coach at Kaizer Chiefs‚ because he is expected to hit the ground running‚ Amakhosi football manager Bobby Motaung has said.
Middendorp made a sensational return to Naturena‚ where he coached from 2005 to 2007‚ replacing Giovanni Solinas within hours of his predecessor’s axing on Friday.
Chiefs have made it clear that one of their reasons for Solinas’s departure just five months into his contract was that they believe they still can salvage something – a trophy‚ good performance in the Caf Confederation Cup‚ or even the league – from their 20182019 season.
Motaung‚ asked whether there was a short-term target for Middendorp in the first six months of his 2½-year contract‚ made no bones of what is expected of the 60-year-old former Maritzburg United‚ Bloemfontein Celtic and Arminia Bielefeld coach.
“We don’t have short-term. He’s got a 2½-year contract. So he’s hitting the ground running‚” Motaung said.
“That’s why we also have undertaken to bring in an assistant [Shaun Bartlett]‚ working with the technical staff that is there.
“Along the journey‚ if there are any challenges with the team we will also bolster the team and help [Middendorp].
“And that’s it. It’s a straightforward business. He’s coming in here to work.
“He knows what is up there in terms of the challenges.
“He needs to win games. That’s what we brought him for. And he signed up for that.
“So there’s no short-term or long-term. It’s straightforward – it’s a job that is there.
“And he took it up knowing what the challenges are. And the challenge is to win games and trophies.”
Chiefs won no trophies in three seasons under Solinas’s predecessor, Steve Komphela.
They will have gone 3½ seasons without silverware come the end of this month.
Middendorp‚ who began training Chiefs on Saturday‚ faces his first assignment against SuperSport United at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Wednesday night (kickoff 7.30pm).