Kaizer Motaung, the chairperson of South African glamour club, Kaizer Chiefs, has outlined the reasons why coach Ernst Middendorp and the Amakhosi parted ways on Wednesday.

Chiefs' announced Middendorps exit on social media following a heartbreaking end to the Absa Premiership season in which the club were pipped to the title by Mamelodi Sundowns on the final day of the season. 

Motaung said there were a number of reasons that were considered before the decision to reach Middendorp was finally reached.

“We deliberated and considered many aspects related to the team, including our way of playing, our performances and the results before coming to the decision,” said Motaung.

“We truly believed and hoped that our 50th anniversary year would be better, and it indeed looked promising. The decision taken is part of a strategy to have the team win trophies again and to make our supporters happy because they deserve better.”

Motaung said that the way Chiefs struggled on resumption of the season after lockdown played a role in coming to the decision to fire Middendorp. 

“After giving the coach and the technical team the ammunition required to compete in the new season, there were some improvements, and this was evident during the first seven months of this 2019/2020 season.

“However, when the league restarted post-lockdown, things changed, and we looked a totally different side in our last eight league matches. We witnessed some heart-stopping performances and we were overtaken on the log in the last game of the season, which truly broke our hearts. We have to take responsibility – we can’t wait and allow this situation to continue.”

- Compiled by Sport24 staff