The tactician believes with focus the Glamour Boys will perform well once again in the league
New Kaizer Chiefs head coach Stuart Baxter has insisted he will not be making massive changes at the team to dismantle what his predecessors had done.
After struggling for a run of good results for most of the season, Gavin Hunt was shown the door, with interim coaches Arthur Zwane and Dillon Sheppard ultimately leading the team to an eighth-place finish.
Many expect the experienced tactician, who is in his second stint at the club, to make massive changes but seemingly, with Chiefs’ transfer ban coming to and, it is not going to be the case.
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“I think it’s important that people understand the coaches who’ve been here before me, they’re good coaches. Some are top coaches in the country,” Baxter told Sowetan.
“This is not about me coming in and dismantling everything that’s been done. This is about me finding a better balance, and maybe rebuilding the culture around the team as well.
“Kaizer Chiefs have moved forward a lot since I was here last.
“This time it will be about expectations. I’ll have to manage that.”
However, the 67-year-old concedes it will be an interesting challenge to understand how the PSL has changed since he was last in charge, to help Amakhosi move forward.
“This time it’s a tougher league. The league has improved in terms of the bottom teams. There are no pushovers now. They’re all tight games,” Baxter continued.
“It will be different. The game has moved forward and changed. I remember the last time I came and spoke about transitions and people laughed. Now it’s an integral part of everybody’s game.
“I have got to find out what is new, and what can I use that is going to bring us an advantage – that edge. It will be interesting, it will be a challenge, but it’s going to be an interesting challenge.”
The last time Baxter was at Chiefs was from 2012 to 2015, and he has further compared that time and the present.
“When I was here last, Chiefs had not won anything for a while. Coming in I knew winning something was a priority. But I didn’t look only at trophies,” he added.
“I was trying to build a team, trying to bond with the supporters, trying to help us find an identity.
“That will be the same now. If we can keep our eyes very firmly on the pathway, and not on the destination, that will be important for Chiefs.
“Now we are the hunters. Gradually we became the hunted in my first stint.”
