Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has addressed the club's supporters following their painful 4-1 loss to SuperSport United at the FNB Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The defeat came just three days after Chiefs secured a commanding 3-0 victory over Chippa United in the Nedbank Cup, and Nabi acknowledged the difficult nature of the match.
"It was a very difficult game from the first minute already. We could see that it was an off game for us. I cannot give excuses all the time, but I believe there is an excuse seeing that we did not have enough time to recover two days. The other team had a week at least and it's a deserved defeat for us. But you can see mentally that we were not up to standard and we cracked, and unfortunately, we can see that the result is also a very painful result for us," Nabi told journalists after the match.
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The loss left the team, as well as the supporters, disappointed, but Nabi sought to offer some perspective on the situation. He encouraged the fans not to judge the team's overall potential based on this one performance, citing the inevitable ups and downs that come with a long season.
"I want to speak to the fans because I'm not someone who runs away from my responsibility. I want to take this time to explain to them the situation and not necessarily give them excuses. It is true that today's result hurts them, and I'm also the first person that it hurts. This is not a game that they should use to judge their team, or at least the potential of their team. This kind of accident happens in all the leagues and it can even happen that the score could have been higher than what we have seen today. It's not possible to be a good team three days earlier and then three days later you are a weak team – it's not possible," said Nabi.
Despite the defeat, Nabi appealed for understanding, especially after the demanding schedule his team had faced.
"As I said, we cannot always give excuses, but I mean, I'm very understanding when it comes to my players. And today I understood that they gave their best in the previous games and they were tired," he added.
The coach concluded by asking the supporters to continue backing the team during challenging times, just as they had during the more positive moments.
"I would like to ask you to please, as you have done it in the happy times, do it also in the difficult times," Nabi appealed.
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