Hlanti lifts the lid on Kaizer Chiefs' defence - Insists conceding goals is not a concern

• Hlanti addresses Chiefs' defensive frailties
• Mental toughness a requirement at Naturena
• Chiefs meet rivals in cup semi-finals

WHAT HAPPENED: Kaizer Chiefs have been struggling with consistency in the Premier Soccer League this season as their target of finishing in second place is almost unrealistic. However, Arthur Zwane's charges managed to navigate all the way to the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup where they will meet rivals Orlando Pirates.

Veteran defender, Sifiso Hlanti says the pressure to perform at Chiefs will always mount, and one needs to have a strong mentality if they play for the famous gold and black. Amakhosi have conceded the highest number of goals among the top five teams on the PSL log (31).

Hlanti has been a consistent figure in Zwane's line-up this season, playing 26 games across all competitions, and while there is a concern about Amakhosi struggling to keep clean sheets this season, the former Bafana Bafana defender is not too concerned about his side's current form going into the derby this Saturday.

WHAT HLANTI SAID: "I wouldn't say it (conceding goals) is a worrying fact, this is a game of mistakes of which at some stage we need to try and avoid such things, which is true," said Hlanti as per KickOff.com.

"But all in all, I think this is a team effort. We make mistakes in the game and we try to rectify those kinds of mistakes. At the end of the day, we need to soldier on and be positive. We know very well that it's not a great feeling to concede silly goals and we are working on that and we are hoping that things will work the way we want.

"The important thing is for us players to be united in difficult times and good times because once you start worrying yourself about certain things you might feel that you are not good enough.

"But once you are strong mentally, whatever comes you can deal with it. We know it is not easy but if you are strong, you can do good things because this is Chiefs, if you are not strong mentally, you will have a problem," he added.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: The Glamour Boys want to save their season and the only way to do that is to advance to the final where they will meet Stellenbosch FC or Sekhukhune United. Pirates, on the other hand, have already won the MTN8 earlier this season. The Buccaneers look likely to finish as runners-up in the league, and this would spell out another disastrous season for Amakhosi as their trophy drought will extend to another season.

WHAT NEXT FOR CHIEFS? Zwane will look to guide Chiefs to what would be his maiden domestic cup final as head coach this weekend before returning to league action against SuperSport United, who are also vying for second spot.