Kaizer Chiefs interim coach Cavin Johnson could be falling for the same pitfalls that were experienced by former coaches Arthur Zwane and Molefi Ntseki.
Pressure on Johnson is starting to mount after he managed only one win from their last five matches in the league in 2024 and Amakhosi were also bundled out of the Nedbank Cup in the first round by a lower league opposition Milford.
In need of a response from the Soweto derby defeat against Orlando Pirates, the Glamour Boys could not get back to winning ways after a goalless draw against Cape Town City on Saturday.
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With three weeks to prepare for City after Chiefs were not involved in the Nedbank Cup round of 16 matches before the FIFA break, Johnson raised eyebrows after he included two youngsters in the line-up, Mduduzi Shabalala and Wandile Duba and kept experienced attackers such as Christian Saile and Ranga Chivaviro on the bench up until the dying minutes.
After Amakhosi fired blanks against the Citizens, Johnson was asked, in a post-match press conference, what informed his decision to play youngsters with results crucial in the final stages of the season.
"Ja look, in some moment it's cloth that you have at Kaizer Chiefs and I think if you don't give them opportunities, because they are showing at training what we'd like to have and so you tend to box differently," Johnson told reporters at Athlone Stadium.
"Every game is a different box, you're facing a different opponent, so you have to use them and you have to use them wisely.
"I think the only real youngster we have at the moment is (Mfundo) Vilakazi, anything older than 16 for me he's ready to play football. So that does not bother me, they should be ready for football," he added.
Chiefs' experiment with youngsters did not work out under former coach Zwane, who showed more faith in the academy graduates.
Johnson has also recently started playing counter-attacking football which was criticized by supporters during the short era under Ntseki.
And with Chiefs yet to make a decision on a permanent head coach, leaving the decision up until the off-season, the biggest question is what makes the former SuperSport United coach different to his predecessors at Amakhosi?
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