Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Siyethemba Sithebe speaks about the pain of enduring an unwanted trophy drought. Sithebe is one of the players who were tasked with returning Chiefs to their glory days but they have failed as they will finish nine seasons without silverware.
The dreadlocked midfielder, Sithebe says the pain felt by the scores of Chiefs fans is what they are also going through as players. Chiefs failed to challenge for the MTN8, DStv Premiership, Nedbank Cup, and the Carling Knockout Cups – they are now eyeing a spot to return to CAF interclub football.
Why Chiefs Midfielder is Unhappy With Trophy Drought
As things stand, the former AmaZulu star is now dreaming of a decent finish as they have seven matches left to wrap up their league campaign. By Chiefs’ standards, finishing beyond the top five can be seen as disastrous. Judging by the log table standings, Chiefs sit at number eight on the table with points and have only won just one of eight matches in all competitions in 2024, and that is a poor return for a club of their stature.
In their next encounter, Amakhosi travel to relegation-threatened Richards Bay on Sunday afternoon in desperate need of a victory to boost their morale. “Obviously we are concerned. Especially when we look at some of the games where we made a lot of opportunities but the ball just wasn’t going into the net. As players, we need to pull up our socks and keep working as hard as we can in the remaining games,” Sithebe told the Kaizer Chiefs website.
The 31-year-old central midfielder has broken into Cavin Johnson’s side in recent games, starting against Cape Town City and Stellenbosch, and coming off the bench in the 2-0 loss to Chippa United in the most recent defeat. Speaking about his effort against the Chilli Boys, Sithebe is distraught after seeing his well-struck shot saved by goalkeeper Darren Johnson who made a fine save from his long-range effort.
“I thought it was going in, but eish, it was one of those days when you don’t have the luck,” added Sithebe. “We want to first secure our place in the top eight, but we want more than that. We still want to qualify for a CAF competition next season.”
Can Chiefs Still Qualify for CAF Interclub Football?
Despite their poor run this year, Sithebe echoed Johnson’s sentiments and said Chiefs still have hopes of finishing in the top three this season and qualifying for continental football in the 2024/25 campaign. This belief comes at a time under Johnson when Chiefs were specialising in clean sheets but with three losses in their last four matches and struggling to score, this is a concern to the veteran coach and the Chiefs fan base.
“It could be a tall order but you plan until the fat lady sings, you plan until the fat lady sings and you don’t know what happens to the other teams that are above you,” said Johnson per SABC Sport.
“You’ve got to compete, the league is 31/32 games and you’ve got to compete until that game I don’t think I’m going to comment on whether we play in Africa yes or no. Not much is different, they all played in defense, maybe we can say the conditions but the conditions were the same for Chippa and I cannot put my finger on it but we will get it right. We did have clean sheets, we have conceded goals and we should get it right soon, soon, soon.”
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