Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Billiat: Chiefs deserve to play in Champions League
KAIZER Chiefs talisman Khama Billiat says the Amakhosi faithful deserve to see the team playing CAF Champions League football on a regular basis, and that’s why securing a top two finish is non-negotiable.
Last term, Chiefs finished as Champions League finalists, where they lost to Al Ahly, after qualifying for the group stage for the first time in the club’s 51-year existence.
That defeat to Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly meant that Chiefs had to wait another season before they could try and qualify for the African showpiece again, after finishing below the top two in the league.
Things haven’t gone according to the script for Chiefs as they are yet to make ground on a top two finish. They recently sacked coach Stuart Baxter after a string of poor results, while interim coach Arthur Zwane has lost the last two matches in charge.
However, with six matches to play before the season ends, Billiat said that it’s not too late for Chiefs, who have 39 points and one game in hand, to close in on second-placed Royal AM who have 45 points.
“We need to look at ourselves individually and analyse how we are supporting each other for the benefit of this great club. It’s not going to be easy (to get positive results from the remaining matches), but this team deserves to play Champions League football every season,” he said.
“We have to give our supporters that. They can’t go to next season knowing that we won’t be playing in the competition.”
Since their return to the stadium, Chiefs supporters are yet to see their value and money’s worth.
In the supporters’ presence, Chiefs have lost three successive league matches to SuperSport United, Stellenbosch and Golden Arrows. Could it be that the team is intimidated by their presence?
“Our supporters don’t scare us. They are here to support and help us to do better. So, we must not be scared of playing in front of them. We missed each other. Maybe we just need to be mentally strong around our supporters,” Billiat said.
With the first spot of qualifying for the Champions League already occupied by Billat’s former employers and 2016 African kings Mamelodi Sundowns – they recently won the league – Chiefs can only qualify if they finish as runners-up.
This afternoon they clash against Cape Town City at home. The Safa arbitration ordered that this match should be played after Chiefs were unable to honour the original fixture in December due to an outbreak of Covid-19 at the club.
However, the PSL have filed for a review of the arbitrator’s award. That will be decided on May 10 at the Gauteng
High Court. Nonetheless, Billiat says they’ll be playing for the three points and a win against City to break the three-game losing streak.
“We cannot lose four games in a row,” Billiat said. “We are a big team, brand and have a huge number of supporters. We should know as players that this game is important and bigger than it is.”