Former Kaizer Chiefs attacking midfielder Jabu Mahlangu pulled no punches when it came to assessing the team as well as individual players' performances this season.
Mahlangu was commenting in his capacity as a SuperSport TV analyst and was speaking after Chiefs lost 2-0 to Orlando Pirates in an MTN8 second leg semi-final on Sunday afternoon at the FNB Stadium. This followed a 3-0 win for Bucs in the first leg game a week earlier.
Amakhosi have struggled all over the park - there have been defensive mistakes, a lack of creativity in midfield, and up front, they have been firing blanks.
Referring to two of the Amakhosi forwards, Khama Billiat and Lebogang Manyama, Mahlangu (formerly Pule) was especially scathing.
“These guys, they are senior players, getting paid a lot of money,” he said.
“[They are among] the highest paid players in the team and in the league. They need to encourage the [young kids] like [Nkosingiphile] Ngcobo, [Njabulo] Blom.
“Both players were Player of the Season [Billiat won PSL Player of the Season while at Mamelodi Sundowns and Manyama did it with Cape Town City].”
Chiefs have now won only two of six matches this season under new coach Gavin Hunt.
Hunt has not been able to add any players to his squad due to the Fifa transfer ban, and while there have been injury problems to deal with, it's also worth noting that this is the same Chiefs team that were literally one goal away from winning the league title last season.
Because of their second place finish last season, the Glamour Boys will be partaking in the Caf Champions League, which Mahlangu feels could further add to their problems.
"Injuries, travelling, and they don't have depth in their squad,” he said. “So its going to be a very difficult season for Gavin Hunt and Kaizer Chiefs.
“But the so-called big players, they need to come out, they need to raise their hand. Manyama, four, five games, from the [bio] bubble, he's never been the same again.”
Following the international break, Amakhosi return to action with a league match against Golden Arrows in Durban on November 21.