Chippa United coach Vusimuzi Vilakazi didn't hold back after his side’s 5-1 loss to AmaZulu, slamming his players for becoming "too relaxed" near the relegation zone. Photo: Backpagepix
Image: Backpagepix
After a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of AmaZulu on Saturday in Durban, Chippa United coach Vusimuzi Vilakazi rebuked his teams complacency despite lying so close to the relegation zone. Vilakazi said he was "tired of defending" his team and their performance of late, citing a drop in their hunger compared to when he first arrived.
Chippa started off the game well but as predicted by AmaZulu's Arthur Zwane, their energy died off after the half hour mark. It all fell apart for Chippa after that. The Chilli Boys had brief moments in the game where they stuck their heads up, but for the most part, their time was spent chasing the game.
As disappointed as he may have been, the former Richards Bay mentor still believes his team will survive their current woes to play another season of Premiership football.
"I try to protect my team and players all the time, but it’s high time they align their minds in terms of digging deep and thinking of the club more than themselves," Vilakazi said.
"The contributions are no longer the same as when I arrived. There was hunger and this drive to save the team. That faded a bit.
"I can now see my players becoming too relaxed and complacent in terms of making sure the team doesn't go down. It’s unfortunate, but we will try and redeem ourselves because we have no other options."
A shaky Sekhukhune United are up next for Chippa at home, in a fixture they hope will yield a few points on Tuesday, May 5.
Chippa have a three-point cushion between them and Marumo Gallants. That could be wiped out to a one point on Sunday should Magesi beat TS Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit. Nevertheless, Vilikazi insisted that it will be enough of a gap to survive any relegation battle.
"We are going to face a Sekhukhune side that is also not doing well right now, and we have TS Galaxy, who are also not doing well. Especially with the game against Sekhukhune, we are playing at home and we need to ensure the three points. We can't give up now," Vilakazi concluded.
Jehran Naidoo is sports reporter for Independent Media and social media coordinator of the our YouTube channel The Clutch.