Kaizer Chiefs coach Ted Dumitru addresses a number of questions from supporters regarding team selection and the substitution of midfielder Jabulani Mendu in the recent Premiership match against Jomo Cosmos.

1. With the exception of Tenashe, who played in all the matches in Tunisia (for Zimbabwe), none of our midfielders managed to regain full match fitness and competitive form after the long break.

In the case of Mendu the situation is even worse. His required work-rate can only be maintained, in average, for approx. 60% of the match time. On Sunday, as the rain started Mendu's recovery runs (from attacking actions to defence) were seriously affected and his signal was 'the tank is empty'. In fact, his drop in the work rate was so sudden that Mooki has to be brought in before completing his warm-up. In all fitness tests run in training, Mendu's endurance capacity shows serious limitations.

2. In both matches played after the interruption (both Arrows and Cosmos being at their peak of match fitness as they were not affected by any break) we have, surprisingly shown a complete control over play actions (possession at approx.60%) as we restricted our opponents to passive play. There were only TWO penetrative attacks we allowed in these two matches which is absolutely remarkable considering that, for example, Arrows usually produce approx. 14-15 penetrative attacks per game in their PSL matches!!

3. In view of the above, the observation that there was 'panic' in our defence in the match against Cosmos is completely baseless. The composure and coordination at the back remains outstanding even when new players (Derek Spencer, Bevan) are introduced to the line-up. The goal we conceded in the game against Cosmos was the result of two basic and quite unacceptable errors. First, it was the lack of effective marking and second, a serious goalkeeping mistake (positioning and safe coverage).

4. In the absence of Bevan our line-up provides insufficient height which is essential when playing opponents who dominate high balls with very tall players, i.e., Wits, Ajax, Cosmos, etc. Besides other roles Mayo is also very effective in dealing with challenges coming from highball situations. In fact, at the moment there is no other player available in the squad to provide any balance in the line-up against opponents with decisive height advantage. We are working to find more effective options in this respect.

5. The general performance of the team, after the difficult conditions resulted from the long break, have exceeded any expectations and completely surprised our opponents. As all the players regain their competitive form superior performances should follow. It is totally unfair to assess our performances at the moment without taking into consideration the advantage offered to other clubs of playing their PSL fixtures regularly.

6. The only sector that is still not matching the value and consistency of the rest of the departments is the striking force. Here, intensive work and quality solutions are the only answer. Every effort is made to address the problems.