It might be still days of the season, but Kaizer Chiefs coach Vela Khumalo has made an admission regarding the DStv Diski Challenge title race.
Chiefs had a promising start to the 2023-24 season. After five games they were at the top of the table, but a recent twist of events saw everything turning upside down for them.
And that has made coach Khumalo to admit “it might be difficult” for them to go all the way and clinch the title this season.
In their last five games Chiefs won once, drew three times and lost once. Those results leave them in position three on the table with 19 points. They are five points behind early pace setters Mamelodi Sundowns.
According to Khumalo, losing seven key players [Puso Dithejane, Omega Mdaka, Mfundo Vilakazi, Lungile Nkosi, Siya Gumede Ntandoyenkosi Nkosi and Donay Jansen] has impaired their chances.
Khumalo explained: “We had a good start to the season, our intentions were very clear. I am not going to hide it, we were gunning for the league title. However, now it is very difficult to maintain the same stance.
“The circumstances we are currently facing have forced us to start from scratch again build a new team with Under-17 and Under-19 players from the Gauteng Development League [GDL]. We have been without seven key players Omega and Puso both of them have left the club, while Donay, Mfundo, Nkosi Nkosi, Lungile and Gumede are out,” explained Khumalo.
When pressed as to why the players are not available and when they will be back in the team, Khumalo stated: “It is due to different reasons, some are suspended, and they will only be available after the Sekhukhune United game [next year]. I cannot delve much on to why is that, we are trying to focus on the youngsters we have now and help them gain confidence and compete.”
In their past games Khumalo introduced new faces such as Ofentse Kgosana, Khulumani Ndamane, Nkosana Mbuthu, Katlego Letuka and Jeremiah Thanyane to fill the void left by the absent suspended players.
Amakhosi face Cape Town City FC in the last match of this weekend’s festival at Princess Magogo Stadium, 12 noon with hopes of snapping their two match winless run.