Dylan Kerr, who signed on the dotted line for Marumo Gallants prior to the current season, only to leave before the campaign could start, has commented on the lengthy break currently confronting PSL teams.
The Premier Soccer League has come under fire from some quarters for pressing 'pause' on the league season on account of the MTN8 final, where Orlando Pirates face Stellenbosch FC at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
READ: African nation snubs Soweto giants' new star for latest team
"The PSL has done it for years, it's not new. The long break doesn't help, especially when you are from an extended pre-season," Kerr says, speaking to KickOff.
"But the long pre-season did allow some clubs to do better than others in organizing the signings and preparing better. There was a good start in the league, especially from Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns. There are others though, like TS Galaxy and AmaZulu FC, who have not started so well.
"Chiefs have not started so well in a long time, and now their coach [Nasreddine] Nabi isn't happy that they are not going to play another league game for a long period. It's three weeks without a league game. He wants to keep the momentum of winning games.
"When you play week in, week out, it keeps the momentum. It makes teams more consistent. As a club, you always look for continuity, so the long break doesn't help you as a coach, and it doesn't help the players.
"You wanna keep the momentum, you wanna keep the players excited. Especially Chiefs, they have not enjoyed a great start in a long time," adds the well-travelled coach.
Kerr, though, says this is all in a day's work in South African football, noting there is also the FIFA international break coming up after the cup final.
"But it's nothing new, there's always something that hinders the PSL, and there's always delays.
"If you win, you want to keep the momentum. If you lose, you want to play the next game. Players in this country don't have the mentality of fixing things at training, they prefer to fix things in a game.
READ: Event update: There's a new date for the Legendary 5 Tournament!
"You don't want to be waiting for another three weeks. Hence you will see clubs organizing friendlies with NFD [Motsepe Foundation Championship] teams, because they want to keep playing games.
"But it's not new, it happens every year. The sponsor, MTN, has put a lot of money into the MTN8, so they don't wanna be sidetracked by the league games that will take away the importance of the MTN8.
"The MTN8 is a lucrative competition for all the clubs, that's why everybody wants to finish inside the Top Eight."