Tshabalala 'embarrassed' to say he did well for Kaizer Chiefs

Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala is pleased with his contribution to the club, but he expressed his disappointment at their inability to win trophies this past season.

“Thank you for the compliments, but for me it’s difficult to say that I had a great season, or so far I’ve achieved accolades whilst the team didn’t do well,” Tshabalala told the media on Wednesday.

“I’m even embarrassed to say that I did well. I’ve won goal of the month twice. We didn’t have a good season. That’s what overshadowed everything. That’s the biggest thing for me - to contribute and help the team win at least one trophy. I didn’t achieve that. So, I’m very disappointed about that,” Tshabalala said.

The Glamour Boys finished a position higher than the previous campaign, but they still didn't do enough to take part in next year's Caf Confederation Cup.

Earlier this week, legendary Chiefs midfielder Tinashe Nengomasha slammed underperforming players at the club, saying only Tshabalala and Willard Katsande were good enough to play for the team.

“I think obviously, playing for a team like Chiefs calibre expectations are higher. You are required to perform week in and week out for a team that is known for winning trophies,” Tshabalala said.

“And when we don’t win trophies, yes we will get criticized. And when we win games, we will still get criticized. And I think it’s how you take criticism. We have to thrive on criticism. Whenever you’re being criticized there are always positives to take out of that, and it builds you as a person. I personally think that we share it as a collective. It’s not tennis, it’s not golf, but football. So, it requires everybody’s effort and contribution to make it a success,” he continued.

“So, I cannot point out players and say, ‘Player 1 didn’t do well, Player 2 didn’t do well'... No, as a player, what I did do to help the other players? It was not enough. So, we didn’t do it as a collective, hence we have to take the punishment as a team,” Tshabalala concluded.