Baxter: Maybe the Kaizer Chiefs shirt is too heavy

Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter thinks the weight of expectation may have gotten the better of some of his players in the 0-0 league draw with TS Galaxy at FNB Stadium on Tuesday evening.

While substitute Nkosingiphile Ngcobo hit the upright late in the game, Chiefs never really posed much of a threat to the Rockets on the night and it was somewhat of a subdued performance from the Soweto giants. And in a tight game, the visiting team also missed some decent opportunities to score.

Commenting on the possible reasons for the underwhelming display, Baxter told SuperSport TV the following after the draw.

“We’ll look at the footage and see if we can find tactical reasons. We’ll look at the stats and see if we can see physical reasons.

“But I can’t unfortunately get inside their heads and find out the psychological reasons.

“I suspect that the players are playing with too much anxiety at the moment. When things don’t go their way, they take it hard,” he continued.

“It’s not a question of they don’t care, maybe they care too much and they feel that the shirt weighs a little bit heavy.

“At half time I tried to address that. But it needed a tactical change before we relaxed a bit and started playing the type of football we want to play.”

The Amakhosi mentor felt that perhaps it was his side’s lack of adventure which prevented them turning one point into three against the Rockets.

“Yes, there were mistakes on a pitch like this when it’s slippery and there’s an aggressive opponent. But the important thing is that we dare to play. Dare to make a few mistakes, I just think that that’s maybe the difference between our good performances and our poor performances.”

This was Amakhosi’s second 0-0 draw in the league this season with TS Galaxy, who are the same team that knocked Chiefs out of the Nedbank Cup.