Kaizer Chiefs midfielder George Lebese has admitted they missed the leadership of influential defender Tefu Mashamaite in a season Amakhosi easily surrendered the Absa Premiership title.

Mashamaite was a colossal figure at the heart of Amakhosi's defence last season.

Chiefs coach Steve Komphela was unable to find a solid back-four this season due to injuries, suspensions and generally a lack of form.

A poor season saw Chiefs finishing in fifth place with statistics not good enough for a team that was unstoppable last season.

They ended the campaign with 38 goals scored, 30 conceded and had more draws than victories.

"He [Mashamaite] is obviously a quality player and we missed him.

"We won trophies when he was here and we kept a lot of clean sheets because he is a good defender and he is a leader.

"But we have players like [Lorenzo] Gordinho who are capable of doing the job," said Lebese.

"We could have managed our games properly - the mistakes we make in the game and conceding from set pieces.

"I think there's going to be a lot of changes, so we hope we can make the fans happy."

Amakhosi have lost another influential player in Reneilwe Letsholonyane and the club needs to find his replacement.

Letsholonyane will join SuperSport United, a move that was confirmed by Amakhosi chairman Kaizer Motaung in his speech at the club's awards on Thursday.

Said Lebese: "It's going to be difficult [without Letsholonyane]. We joined the team at the same time and he was part of the family for a long time. He is like a brother, so seeing him in different colours will be weird."

Lebese admits he had a disappointing campaign.

He was the team's top scorer with eight goals in all competitions, but injury and a loss of form hampered what was promising to be a phenomenal campaign in the beginning.

"I started well, but my form dipped, which is something I need to look at. I want to be consistent."