Kaizer Chiefs captain Itumeleng Khune admitted that a ‘lack of concentration’ was to blame for their poor defensive showings at the start of the season, writes DEAN WORKMAN.

The Glamour Boys got off to a tough start to the season, failing to win any of their opening five Absa Premiership encounters with many pointing to their defensive frailties as the issue.

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Amakhosi, however, seems to have turned the corner after winning two games in a row, against Cape Town City and Free State Stars, but it’s has been their improved performance at the back which has given them the platform to go on and win games.

Eric Mathoho, Daniel Cardoso, Teenage Hadebe, Siyabonga Ngezana and the recently signed Mario Booysen have all featured so far this season as coach Giovanni Solinas has searched for the right partnership at the centre of the Chiefs backline.

Speaking at a media day held at Naturena, Khune admitted that a ‘lack of concentration’ was to blame for their poor start.

‘I think concentration [was the reason behind the poor start defensively], hence the coach has already played all the central defenders, there was that lack of concentration, lack of communication.

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‘But, now we realised where we got it all wrong and we started fixing it in training and now it is starting to show in matches.

‘What is important is that we don’t have to drag each other down whenever someone makes a mistake. We have to cover-up for him because we not doing it for ourselves but for the team.

‘So, it’s really important that we sacrifice ourselves for the benefit of the team,’ concluded the Chiefs shot-stopper.

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Photo: Chris Ricco/BackpagePix