'It's sad and painful': Mdu Shabalala vows to lift Chiefs out of quagmire

Mduduzi Shabalala didn't expect the struggles Kaizer Chiefs are experiencing to last this long when he was promoted to the senior team from the club's development rank last season.

But Shabalala, born and bred in Senaoane in Soweto, was part of Arthur Zwane's team that just managed to creep into the DStv Premiership top eight last season and is ending the current campaign under interim coach Cavin Johnson under similar circumstances as the Glamour Boys battle for positive results.

Chiefs will take on SuperSport United in Polokwane on Saturday hoping to earn their second league victory this year after failing to do so in seven games. The last three have been disappointing defeats to Stellenbosch, Chippa United and relegation-threatened Richards Bay that have taken the Soweto giants out of the top eight.

Shabalala has not thrown in the towel on finishing in the top eight in a season in which Amakhosi will complete nine unprecedented years without winning a trophy.

After the SuperSport game Chiefs will be left with five games: against runaway log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns at FNB Stadium on Tuesday, AmaZulu FC away, Polokwane City at home and Cape Town Spurs away and TS Galaxy at home.

“We need to keep going even though things [results] are not going our way,” was Shabalala's response about the club's situation when he faced the media on Thursday at the club's village in Naturena.

“It's not been a good season for us but we still have six games to go. We think everything can just turn [in our favour] in one game if we can win Saturday's game. We can go back to top eight because we can see in the table that we're not that far.

“It's all about believing in ourselves, doing it for our fans and our families because that's the motivation behind us.” 

Given the latest results, what Shabalala is talking about will seem far-fetched because Chiefs have had numerous opportunities to at least cement their place in the top eight but gave it away, with Johnson failing to steer the club towards getting positive results.

Shabalala is taking all that's happening in his stride and vowing to remain part of the players to revive Chiefs in the coming seasons.

“It's sad and it's painful,” said Shabalala of the club's situation. “Waking up every morning and seeing people doubting you, seeing people not having trust in you is insulting in such a way that suggests you're not a good player.

“But I would say pressure is a privilege and being in such a big institution and being in such a situation we're in right now, it teaches us how to be a man because we're still young.

“We are the players who will be here in those years where we'll be having a good time with our team. So we need to embrace the moment. We suffer as a team, we suffer as youngsters and we'll continue to work hard and we're hoping for better results.”

Shabalala is showing maturity in how he's handling the blows he gets from doubting Thomases he meets off the field. The 20-year-old attacking midfielder has not had good season, providing just one assist and failing to score goals in 13 matches he's played this season.

“I just keep calm. We know what we've been going through,” said Shabalala in response to his critics.

“It's all in your head. Sometimes you need to choose what you want to listen to. I know I'm a good player but because things are not going our way as a team it doesn't mean we're bad players.

“It's a situation in which every club can find itself. If you can check even Mamelodi Sundowns were once in this situation when coach Pitso [Mosimane] was first introduced [in 2012].

“It's something that happens to each and every team. Even [Spanish giants] Barcelona, they go through the phases. They haven't been winning the [Uefa] Champions League, they have been losing in quarterfinals.

“It's something that happens to all the teams, if you can check Chelsea [in the Premier League]. It's only us who can change the situation on the field of play.” 

Chiefs fans will be hoping Shabalala and company will start delivering the goods from Saturday ahead of their blockbuster fixture against Sundowns on Tuesday.