Middendorp still has faith in Kotei

Cape Town - Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp insists James Kotei could still come good at the club even though he is yet to play this season.

The Ghanaian joined the Glamour Boys at the start of the season, which put Chiefs over their foreign player registration limit and resulted in the club selling Madagascan international Adriamirado Andrianarimanana, simply known as 'Dax'.

Many supporters were disappointed to see the back of Dax, but Middendorp doesn't have any regrets about the decision and still has faith in Kotei.

"I wouldn't go that far (as to talk about regrets)," said Middendorp, as quoted by KickOff.

"You would be surprised, but research in general in professional soccer shows that players start to perform if they come from another country or continent, most of the time build-up to their best at the earliest in their second season.

"If you have sometimes a lucky moment that certain players can do it immediately, that's fine, but I’m not irritated at the moment.

"If we can have (Kotei ready by) next season, then we can talk about (regrets). But it's still too early to make a final assessment about it."

Amakhosi are back in action on Sunday, December 22 against Maritzurg United.

- TeamTalk Media