The past two seasons have been a bitter pill to swallow, says Khune
JOHANNESBURG: Itumeleng Khune agrees with the public perception: Kaizer Chiefs players need to put their words into action and help coach Steve Komphela, who is in the final year of his contract, deliver a trophy following two barren seasons.
Of course Komphela’s detractors believe the former Bafana Bafana captain should have been sacked, but that not being the case, Khune believes it’s the players who have to step up in the upcoming campaign.
The Amakhosi face SuperSport United in the quarter-finals of the MTN8 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium tomorrow. The goalkeeper suggested he, along with his teammates, were under enormous pressure to prove they were capable of ending the unusual drought.
“At the end of last season we went away wondering whether we deserved to play for this club,” Khune said. “But we returned with a fresh approach and (were) much more energised. We are playing against a ruthless team and, to be honest, we have to show more hunger.”
The captain spoke glowingly of Komphela’s methods and attributed the club’s lack of success so far to a poor execution on the players’ part.
“It is not just the coach, who is under pressure. He is a good planner as well as tactician and the players have to execute the plan. We have let him down a couple of times,” Khune explained.
“The past two seasons have been a bitter pill to swallow. It is a shame for us as players to go two years without a trophy. We have to take ourselves out of this, we have put ourselves under immense pressure.”
An example of another failure from the players’ point of view was the alarming rate at which Chiefs conceded late goals, which often led to them losing games or dropping points in the PSL title race last season – they finished fourth as a result.
To try to remedy that and improve a back four which clearly needed new energy, the club signed Zimbabwean centre-back Teenage Hadebe from Chicken Inn and Philani Zulu, who didn’t necessarily scale to such heights that would have earned him a move to Chiefs from Maritzburg United, although he has the advantage of having worked with Komphela in the past.
“We were all a little comfortable,” Khune explained. “The club has gone the extra mile to improve. Teenage is a good defender who listens, but unfortunately he is injured at the moment.
“Remember we were playing (Lorenzo) Gordinho on the left side of central defence and he is a right-footed player and I think most of the time he struggled. Teenage brings the strength and competition. Zulu is naturally a left-winger, but can play at left-back, and that means he gives Tsepo Masilela and Sibusiso Khumalo competition. That is what we want, and hopefully the team can improve.”