Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala belives that inconsistency is the reason behind the Soweto giants’ demise in the Absa Premiership title race this season.
Steve Komphela’s men formed part of the title chasing pack for a large part of the season, but faltered with six games left to be played in the campaign.
Tshabalala, who rolled back the years with his eye-catching performance this season, netted eight goals in all competitions, but his efforts proved in vain as Chiefs completed their second consecutive season without a trophy.
“In my opinion, we’ve got a strong league. All 16 teams are very strong – even those fighting relegation are not easy [to beat],” he told kickoff.
“All the top teams that have played against the so-called ‘small teams’, I don’t think they collected maximum points out of all those teams – it shows the standard of the league is improving.
“Cape Town City as well – they are, in my opinion, among the big boys as well. They are still at the top [third] and have won the Telkom Knockout, and they’ve had a great season,” he added.
The former Bafana Bafana international called for the improvements from his side, who are expected to finish the season in fifth place, narrowly missing out on a CAF Confederation Cup berth.
“What matters most, is what we want to achieve as Kaizer Chiefs.
“I’m sure all the teams at the beginning of the season plan and have their own objectives, and we need to worry and focus on our own.
“We definitely need to up our game and bring our A-game all the time. We need to be consistent, fight for one another – the team and the coach as well – and we can only show that on the field through commitment and unity.
“This season was not consistent, there were times when we played as a unit and did well, but there were times when we also dropped and gave away games, which shouldn’t have happened for a team that wants to win the league.
“We showed signs, but it was not enough, so we’ll regroup and plan again [for next season],” he concluded.
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