Former Kaizer Chiefs fan favourite Mandla Masango has offered a piece of crucial advice to new Amakhosi head coach Fernando Da Cruz: assess the current squad before ruthlessly swinging the transfer axe.
Da Cruz, who officially took over the reins at Naturena following the departures of Khalil Ben Youssef and Cédric Kaze, is under immediate pressure to impress the Amakhosi faithful when Chiefs take on Zimbabwean outfit Scotland FC in the annual Toyota Cup in Rustenburg this Sunday.
Praise for the Spanish Pre-Season Tour
Despite only adding defender Thabo Moloisane and goalkeeper Renaldo Leaner to the roster so far, Chiefs recently returned from a high-profile pre-season camp in Europe. Masango believes testing the squad against top European opposition was a masterstroke in preparing for the 2026/27 campaign:
“I think it’s a good initiative because you get to test yourselves against European teams, which shows that we’re not far away within the standard—even though they are much higher than our current standard,” Masango noted via Soccer Laduma. “For the mere fact that they get to test themselves against those players abroad, it’s good.”
The Call for Patience: Assess Before You Rebuild
With a sweeping squad overhaul currently taking place at Naturena, the former speedster cautioned the French-Portuguese tactician against making hasty transfer decisions before fully understanding the talent already at his disposal:
“The coach only arrived now, so he just needs to assess the current players. Because you can’t just chase everyone out. You need to assess and plan, and then know which area to beef up,” Masango advised.
Da Cruz will get his first official look at how the supporters react to his system when the Glamour Boys walk out at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium this weekend.
