Johannesburg - Kaizer Chiefs captain Itumeleng Khune says there are players who seem to be starstruck at the club, and that’s why they haven’t come out of their shells.
Chiefs are enduring a seven-year trophy drought, having last won a silverware - the Premiership title - in 2015 under Stuart Baxter.
But they’ve since decided to take the route less travelled this campaign, appointing novice Arthur Zwane as the new coach to rebuild the team.
Zwane knows the club like the back of his hand and coached in the development ranks, but the senior team coaching role was all new to him and his rebuilding phase hasn’t gone according to plan as his team is languishing 14th on the league standings, with eight points from seven games.
This hasn’t been a good return on investment as Zwane’s project was backed by resources, including the signing of 10 new players.
These new players include Zitha Kwinika, Yusuf Maart and Dillan Solomons. But Khune has suggested that there are “players that are still starstruck”.
“It’s affecting me badly (that Chiefs haven’t been consistent and winning games like we used to),” said Khune, who is the longest serving player at the club.
“Every player has a responsibility to play, ensuring that the club goes back to its glory days. But I don’t know whether some of us are still starstruck.
“Or we just don’t believe that we are finally playing for Kaizer Chiefs. We haven’t come out of our shells. That’s something that we need to work on.
“We need to realise that we are at Kaizer Chiefs and start performing like Kaizer Chiefs players. The fans demand results, consistency and (silverware).”
Many a time Chiefs’ recruitment strategy has come under heavy criticism, with players reportedly not Amakhosi calibre as they fail at the club.
Lazarous Kambole and Anthony Agay are some of the many players who have failed to impress at Chiefs, albeit coming with lofty billings in Africa.
But Khune, who has seen players come and go at Chiefs, has distanced himself from those comments, saying the senior players’ role is to welcome the new arrivals.
“Not really. I can’t comment much on the structure that the club uses to recruit players. But we have to welcome everyone as the seniors,” he said.
“We have to teach him the club and team’s culture. So that those players can fit in and try to take the club to the next level during their stint with us.”
Chiefs will be eager to get back to winning ways tomorrow, as they welcome a high-flying SuperSport United to FNB Stadium.
SuperSport are high on confidence as they head into the game on the back of two wins in a row after beating rivals Mamelodi Sundowns and Maritzburg United.
“To be quite honest, we know what SuperSport are capable of. We’ve watched a couple of their games and did some analysis on them,” Khune said.
“We are expecting long balls and crosses. But we are also working on stopping them on those situations, as that will give us a chance to win the game.”
IOL Sport