KAIZER Chiefs coach Vladimir Vermezovic says his players are getting big-headed.

Though the Serbian did not use those exact words, he came close.

"There are a lot of people around these players and they tell them things like 'you are the best' and 'you are the one'," Vermezovic said after Tuesday night's 1-0 Absa Premiership defeat by Black Leopards, a team the Amakhosi thumped 4-0 in a Nedbank Cup match just four days earlier.

Vermezovic blamed Chiefs' disappointing league form on the failure by his players to ignore praises heaped on them from outsiders who tell them they are "the best" after only one solid performance.

The Amakhosi coach also said the inconsistency that has led to the club falling behind log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns is a psychological problem he now has to tackle.

Vermezovic was furious with Chiefs' poor showing against relegation candidates Leopards at Soccer City.

"I hope this defeat (by Leopards) was the last one of the season for us," said the coach. "There's a psychological problem and now we have to deal with it."

Vermezovic is desperate to win the Premier League with Chiefs because the Serb is in the last year of his contract. He arrived at Naturena in 2009.

Reports have suggested that if he does not win the league, he will not be at the club next season and a new coach will be brought in to end what would be Chiefs' seventh year without the league title.

"Of course it has become difficult to catch up (with Sundowns), but we are never going to give up," Vermezovic said.

"We will fight until it is mathematically impossible to win the league."

The coach said he still believed that his Chiefs squad was a potential championship-winning side despite being fourth on the Premiership table with eight games remaining (before last night's matches).

"For us it's important where we are going to be at the end of the season. Everything is up and down at the moment, we have a game in hand against Ajax (Cape Town) and we will see what happens after that," he said.