Former Kaizer Chiefs winger Junior Khanye says he does not expect Amakhosi to win any silverware in the 2026-27 campaign, arguing the current squad is not strong enough to compete with Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates.
Kaizer Chiefs, who finished third in the Betway Premiership last season – their best league placing in six years – have still lifted only one trophy in the past 11 seasons and gone through 10 coaching changes in that time.
Despite a sense of renewed optimism around the club following that top-three finish, Khanye insists the side remain a long way off the leading teams in South African football and predicts their trophy drought will continue.
Speaking on iDiski TV, Khanye was scathing in his assessment of the squad, and in particular the attacking options available to the technical team.
“This club is not serious. I’m so sorry, it’s a sad truth, but we must speak the truth. Those players, even if you bring the Spanish coach who won the World Cup (Vicente del Bosque), they won’t win,” he said.
Attack ‘lacks special players’
Khanye pointed to the players currently tasked with scoring goals and questioned whether they have the quality to deliver major honours at Naturena.
“Duba has been there and Velebayi as well. The player who scored for them was Lilepo. He has a strong character, good technique and height, but he’s not a special player because he couldn’t carry Kaizer Chiefs,” he added.
While acknowledging Lilepo’s attributes, Khanye argued that none of the forwards have yet shown they can shoulder the responsibility of leading a title-challenging attack over the course of a long season.
He suggested that, without a genuinely standout attacking player, Chiefs will struggle to sustain a challenge on multiple fronts and keep pace with their main rivals.
Sundowns and Pirates tipped to stay ahead
Looking ahead to the coming campaign, Khanye expects Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates to remain the dominant clubs in South African football and does not believe Chiefs will be able to disrupt that hierarchy.
He highlighted the volume of fixtures the leading sides will have to negotiate, including matches “home and away, and also outside the country”, and questioned whether Chiefs’ forwards can handle that burden.
“They will play so many games, home and away, and also outside the country. When you look at the attack, can they carry them?
“For me, I don’t see them winning a single trophy this season. They will win a few games, but no trophy.”
Khanye’s remarks underline the level of scepticism that still surrounds Kaizer Chiefs’ rebuilding efforts, despite their improvement in the Betway Premiership standings. The club now faces the challenge of proving on the pitch that it can turn incremental progress into tangible success and finally bring an end to a barren run that has stretched across more than a decade.
