Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef still have control of the dressing room at Kaizer Chiefs, which is why Lebohang Maboe and his teammates are doing their best to self-reflect, believe, and work hard to turn around their form.
Kaze and Ben Youssef have come under fire in recent weeks from disgruntled fans, former coaches, and club legends following a huge dip in form that has seen the team lose four games in a row across all competitions.
As such, there have been allegations that the duo has since lost the dressing room, with some players — particularly senior members — no longer in tune with their pathway and philosophy. Maboe, however, vehemently denied those claims this week.
“There’s no such thing,” Maboe emphasised during Chiefs’ pre-match press conference ahead of their Betway Premiership clash against Durban City at FNB Stadium on Sunday afternoon (3.30pm kick-off).
“These are our coaches and leaders. For us as leaders, we share the same goal, which is to help the team get maximum points and win each game.
“It’s unfortunate that the past three weeks have damaged the work that we’ve been doing over the past three months. But this is the situation we are faced with right now. We are confident that we’ll work together and turn the corner.”
Indeed, Chiefs’ situation is unfortunate. Before the wheels came off for Kaze and Ben Youssef, the duo were on people’s lips for the right reasons as they were in contention for a treble — the league, Nedbank Cup, and CAF Confederation Cup. That’s why Maboe still believes the blend of experience and youth within the squad can produce the right combination to help the team out of its current situation.
“I definitely believe that,” Maboe said. “We’ve got good leaders within the team, we’ve got a balance of experienced players and young ones who are also coming through. For us, we need to stick together, believe in the cause and work towards the same goal.”
But before Chiefs’ players and technical team can successfully work together to finish the season on a high — possibly achieving a continental qualifying spot — Maboe has called for self-introspection from everyone.
“I think we need to look at ourselves individually first and ask ourselves what it is that I am not doing correctly before looking at the next person,” Maboe said. “Once we do that, we can come together and see how we can work towards one goal.”
Maboe and his teammates are eager to put their words into action in their next clash at home to City. They know, however, that the Durban side will be tough opponents at the Calabash, given their current momentum, including reaching the Nedbank Cup semi-final, where they will face Casric Stars.
“They are coming in very confident,” Maboe said. “We know we are coming up against a motivated team. But we are also playing for the badge and the millions of fans who are out there and coming to the stadium in numbers. We have to put words into action now. We are saying we want to turn things around, so that has to start on Sunday.”
