Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Thabo Cele admits crisis at the club

While Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi continues to preach patience with his side, Amakhosi midfielder Thabo Cele has sung a completely different tune.

The Mighty Amakhosi finished in a not-so-mighty 10th place on the log last season, which prompted the hiring of the Tunisian Nabi for the new campaign.

Their current log position in the Betway Premiership? Eighth. Nabi has led the side in exactly 27 matches, having won 10, drawn five, and lost 12.

After he was appointed on a two-year contract on July 1, 2024, much was expected of Nabi. Though it can be argued that Chiefs are playing much better football now, the cold, hard reality is that the club’s fans are a fickle bunch with little patience.

Kaizer Chiefs struggle for control: Cele labels their performance a crisis

“We’re giving the games away ourselves…it’s not the opponents that give us problems [but] it’s just us. We tend to lose control very easily and it’s something that’s frustrating,” Cele said.

Moving swiftly from his feelings of disappointment, Cele uttered the ‘c’ word.

“For Chiefs to be sitting where we’re sitting [eighth with 29 points from 23 games], it’s not nice…it is a crisis, you can call it a crisis because even us as a team we know that we can do way better.  With the coach, it’s a message that’s always there to say, ‘control, control’, so that we can create more chances and be calm at the back to win games.

“When you lose control of the game, you find yourself making silly mistakes. We must improve on the control aspect, so that we can be organised when we lose the ball.”

The 28-year-old Cele joined Chiefs in the January transfer window, after spending his formative years as a professional footballer in Europe.

Cele took the unusual route for an SA footballer of beginning his career abroad, with stints in Portugal, Poland, and Russia.

His best spell of his career to date came at Cova da Piedade from 2018 to 2021 as Cele made over 70 appearances for the Portuguese outfit.

Since joining the Soweto giants, Cele has been a standout player and reportedly also drawing the attention of Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos.

@Michael_Sherman

IOL Sport