Baxter: Kaizer Chiefs announce coach’s departure

Kaizer Chiefs have announced the club has terminated the contract of coach Stuart Baxter.

This ends Baxter’s second stint at Naturena after rejoining the club in June 2021.

Assistant coaches Arthur Zwane and Dillon Sheppard will be caretaker coaches until the end of the season.

As the Briton struggled to steer Amakhosi to second position on the Premier Soccer League table, the club opted for “an early termination of his contract.”

“After a series of meetings, Kaizer Chiefs and coach Stuart Baxter have come to a mutual agreement of an early termination of his contract with immediate effect,” Chiefs said in a statement.

“In his second spell with Kaizer Chiefs, Baxter has led the team in 23 matches [excluding three league matches in December 2021]. He managed to win nine matches, draw six and lost eight of the games.

“The team managed to score 25 goals and concede 23 during that time. Assistant coaches Arthur Zwane and Dillon Sheppard will take charge of the senior team for the remainder of the season, starting with the next match against Stellenbosch FC on Saturday, 23 April 2022.

“We wish him [Baxter] well in the future. The club will make further announcements in due course.”

As Baxter leaves Chiefs, they were already ruled out of the league title race, after also missing out on the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup.

He now exits with the Soweto giants fourth on the table as they struggled for a top-two finish - which they need to guarantee Caf Champions League football for next season.

Unlike his first stint at Naturena which produced two league titles, the second spell was a difficult one for Baxter who was the last coach to deliver the PSL crown for Amakhosi, in 2015.

Since that last triumphant season, four coaches, Steve Komphela, Giovanni Solinas, Ernst Middendorp and Gavin Hunt came and went without winning the league title amid Mamelodi Sundowns’ PSL dominance.