Ashley du Preez will overcome his latest miss and find the back of the net regularly, according to Kaizer Chiefs head coach Arthur Zwane.
The marquee off-season signing arrived with an immense reputation from Stellenbosch where he emerged as the poster boy of their ambitious project in the Cape Winelands region.
Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns were among the teams to have expressed interest in the newly capped Bafana Bafana forward but since his R10-million switch to Naturena, he’s scored just two goals in his first six games.
The pacey forward is known to be a confidence player and was susceptible to missing the odd easy chance during his time at Stellies but netting some spectacular goals too.
And after missing a glaring chance for the national team against Botswana last week, he suffered the same fate against AmaZulu when he was put clean through on goal but hit his effort straight at goalkeeper Veli Mothwa and skied the rebound over the crossbar.
But Zwane says it’s now his role as the leader of the team to work on du Preez, whom he stated was one of the best players he’s ever seen, shortly after his arrival at the club.
“Not really no, he’s a big boy, he’s a strong character, he’s one boy that I believe in – we all believe in him, we know he’s going to get it right at some point,” Zwane said in the post-match press conference.
“As I’ve been saying, football is a game of mistakes and there are times when things are not going your way. As a coach, the only thing that I have to do is lift him up, work on him, and improve his game.
“He’s easy to work with, he’s focused. The other day, maybe the past two weeks it was other players who were trying their best but the form was dipping, and what do I do? It’s our role to help them, work on their strengths and make sure they cover their weaknesses.
“Ashley is one of those I believe will get it right, he will score many goals this season, I do believe in him and he’s going to bounce back very strong.”
Du Preez has scored 15 goals and registered nine assists in 75 games in the South African top-flight since helping Stellies win promotion back in 2019.
