There's a lot of work still to be done at Kaizer Chiefs‚ says McCarthy

While Fabian McCarthy cannot say with absolute certainty whether his former club Kaizer Chiefs have finally turned the corner or not‚ the erstwhile defender has noticed their effectiveness in grinding out results over the past few matches.

Chiefs have not lost in their last five matches in all competitions‚ which includes one win and two draws in the league and two wins in the Telkom Knockout‚ and they have a semifinal date against Bidvest Wits on the weekend of 18/19 November.

McCarthy‚ who played for the SA U23s and Bafana Bafana‚ said Chiefs’ lack of consistency and fluency can be largely attributed to their new 3-5-2 system that coach Steve Komphela has been using since their impressive 2-1 win over rivals Mamelodi Sundowns last month.

“They don’t play that well for the duration of the match‚ they are not consistent in terms of the flow of the game but they get the results which is important‚" he said.

"If it is not broken‚ I don’t see why coach Steve (Komphela) must change things around.

"I am positive that they will pick up as the season continues but there is a lot of work to be done by both the coaches and the players‚” said McCarthy‚ who added that winning the Telkom Knockout is imperative because it will be a welcome relief for Komphela after two seasons of no silverware.

“They are in the semifinal stage of the Telkom Knockout and they must go all the way to win the cup and boost confidence ahead of the second round of the league campaign.

"Hopefully they will make one or two additions to the squad in January‚ maybe a strong central midfielder to help Willard Katsande and George Maluleke‚ and a striker to help Bernard Parker and Gustavo Paez.

"The make-up of the team does not look too bad at the moment.

"They have just been unlucky with injuries to key players especially in the defence.”

McCarthy said Komphela was forced to resort to the unusual 3-5-2 formation because of injuries to key defenders Ramahlwe Mphahlele‚ Tsepo Masilela‚ Kgotso Moleko and Sibusiso Khumalo and so far they have been solid.

“In the system that Paul Dolezar used to like so much‚ you must have one player to command‚ one to be tough and the other one who has speed.

"I want to see more of Daniel Cardoso and Lorenzo Gordinho in the department and maybe they will improve as the season progresses.

"As for Eric Mathoho‚ he is not the same player that he was over the past two seasons and he must show leadership at the back because he is the most senior player in that department‚’ he said.

In the absence of Mphahlele‚ Masilela‚ Moleko and Khumalo‚ Komphela gave opportunities to youngsters Siyabonga Ngezana‚ who scored on his debut against Sundowns‚ and Philani Zulu.

The two young players have not disappointed.

Ngezana has been a revelation in the centre of the defence while Zulu and Joseph Molangoane have perfectly slotted in as wingbacks as part of Komphela’s 3-5-2 formation.