Former Kaizer Chiefs player Willard Katsande believes the Soweto giants lacks strong leaders, amid their sluggish start to the Betway Premiership this season.

Amakhosi are on a mission to turn their fortunes around this season after a disappointing 10th-place finish in the league standings last year — their worst finish in the club's history in the modern PSL era.

However, their progress has been slow as they are currently in sixth place in the league table, with 11 points from seven matches, and have secured just one win in their last five league outings.

In their most recent league outing against Royal AM at Polokwane Stadium on Saturday, they squandered a 2-0 lead, ultimately drawing the game. This led their coach Nasreddine Nabi to slam his players for what he called 'lack of professionalism'.

Katsande who won several titles with the Phefeni Glamour Boys during his time at the club believes that the squad lacks strong leaders who can thrive under pressure.

"They need a hard man in [the] midfield and a striker. However, there is also a lack of leaders. You need people who can keep the heads cool," Katsande told FarPost.

The former Chiefs midfielder echoed Nabi's sentiments, noting a lack of professionalism among some players. He added that the Tunisian coach will need at least four transfer windows to set things right.

“I think Chiefs need at least four transfer windows under Nabi because there are some encouraging signs. I don’t think the coach was wrong to say there was a lack of professionalism. At least he didn’t single out certain departments. He spoke about the whole team and knows that they should have done better.” Katsande concluded.

IOL Sport