Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Patrick Maswanganyi has urged Kaizer Chiefs supporters to be patient with the club’s young players.

This comes after Mduduzi Shabalala missed a penalty during Amakhosi‘s 2-1 victory over Siwelele in the Carling Knockout Cup this past weekend.

Speaking to the South African Football Journalists Association (SAFJA), Tito called on supporters to show youngsters more understanding, particularly when they struggle to perform.

“My thing is for the fans to take it easy, especially on young players that are coming in,” said Maswanganyi.

“Sometimes you see Mfundo Vilakazi playing, trying his best and not doing well in the game, and then you see lots of fans speaking badly about a player who is very young for the team that they support.”

Tito wants Chiefs youngsters to shine

Maswanganyi believes young players need time to develop and that negative criticism from supporters does little to help their progress.

“And it’s not really good because that player is someone who still needs to grow. I think there are also senior players in the team who would take it better than the younger players.

“I watched the Kaizer Chiefs [vs Siwelele] and I saw Mdu miss a penalty. And I watched the fans signal for him to go out. Minutes later, he creates another penalty for the team, the team gets back into the game.

“Just imagine if they would have taken him out at that time. Probably they would never have even got a goal. They would have lost the game.”

Tito on Chiefs handling of Shabba

The former Pirates star further pleaded with supporters to encourage young players rather than tear them down when things do not go their way.

“But for me, it’s for the fans to take it easy on the younger players. The more they encourage them, the more they will do for the team. And we need these players to grow better, to improve because these are our future, they’re going to go to the Bafana Bafana team,” Tito said on Chiefs youngsters.

“So we need to protect them, we need to show them love, and we need to appreciate them. Somewhere outside the country, they show lots of love for young players, but in South Africa, it’s very difficult to show love to those players.”