Kaizer Chiefs head coach Arthur Zwane has defended his decision to blood youngsters when the team is struggling.
Chiefs sold former utility player Njabulo Blom to Major League Soccer outfit St. Louis City SC in December last month and have lost a key member in defensive midfield.
To fill the void, Zwane has slotted in youngster Samkelo Zwane, who is one of the academy graduates thrown in at the deep end, including Mduduzi Shabalala and Wandile Duba.
The Glamour Boys, however, are on a bad form after back-to-back losses against Sekhukhune United and a humiliating defeat to AmaZulu.
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There has been suggestions that the Chiefs team lack leaders and experienced players to help handle the pressure and ahead of their big game against Mamelodi Sundowns over the weekend, Zwane says he still believes it is the right time to play the youngsters, as they are planning for the future.
"Look, football is a game of opportunities you know, we've got our senior players who are not available for this game, who have not been available due to injuries and unforeseen circumstances," Zwane told the media in a press conference.
"And we had to obviously give the young guns the opportunity to express themselves and show their talents and some of them they did grab the opportunity with both hands.
"And we had to continue where we left off with them because at the end of the day it's about the future of this club and if we're not gonna give these young boys an opportunity to play, when are we gonna give them the opportunity?" he asked.
"We also think about the future, we're in a rebuilding phase, we're trying to build a way of playing as much as the results are fluctuating but I've seen a lot of positive things come out from what we have been doing since the beginning of the season."
'Mangethe' further pointed out that it's inevitable that they will pay the price for fielding youngsters as they are prone to making mistakes.
"And at some point you'll pay the price when you play with the youngsters. You pay the price in terms of the mistakes they commit and obviously the game is the teacher and most of them as you can see they are improving and the more they play, the more they gain experience," he added.
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