FRESH BLOOD

WERE KAIZER CHIEFS RIGHT NOT TO SIGN ANYONE IN THE JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW? INTERIM COACH CAVIN JOHNSON STATES HIS CASE

- Mazola Molefe

Is coach Cavin Johnson the one to blame for Kaizer Chiefs' lack of transfer activity during the January transfer window? The Amakhosi mentor has definitely suggested it was partly his decision to stop management from adding to the squad list at a time when the new players would have been able to adjust and adapt.

With the Africa Cup of Nations forcing the Premier Soccer League to take a six-week long recess, this would have been similar to having a pre-season and perhaps been an ideal time to induct anyone recruited ahead of the second half of the campaign.

The consensus now, in hindsight and seeing that Chiefs have failed to win a trophy since May 2015 under then mentor Stuart Baxter, is that the Glamour Boys should have gone into the market... particularly for some firepower upfront.

However, in a number of the press conferences after the window slammed shut, Johnson was defiant as he insisted acquiring fresh faces was not necessary.

It came across as naïve their rivals, log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, signed four players good enough to jump right into the starting line-up, while their Soweto counterparts Orlando Pirates also added three, including striker Tshegofatso Mabasa returning from his loan spell at Moroka Swallows.

Chiefs' choice not to do the same now seems bizarre, but Johnson had an explanation.