Itumeleng Khune has called on his Kaizer Chiefs teammates to step up in order for the club to dig itself out of the hole the players put themselves in.

Amakhosi have gone two seasons without a trophy‚ a rare occurrence for the most successful club in the country’s history.

The Soweto giants are looking to change that in the 2017/18 campaign in what is a make-or-break season for coach Steve Komphela.

The beleaguered coach has constantly shielded the players from the ire of the fans‚ preferring to take the heat instead of his players.

“It’s unfair for the coach to put the blame solely on himself‚” Khune said.

“We’re all in the same boat. We all have to shoulder the blame because we as the players on the field‚ we aren’t delivering.

"It’s about time that we step up and make our fans happy. The past two seasons haven’t been our seasons. We are looking forward to this season. We want to reclaim our glory.

"The only way to turn things around is to perform to the best of our abilities. The coaches prepare us well as players but sometimes we as players lose concentration in the last minute of the game.”

That loss of concentration towards the end of matches cost Chiefs last season‚ dropping out of the league race through the numerous late goals they conceded.

To combat that‚ Amakhosi strengthened their defence by signing centreback Teenage Hadebe from Zimbabwe.

Amakhosi will see how far they are from being a competitive outfit on Saturday at FNB Stadium in the Carling Black Label Champion Cup against their arch-rivals Orlando Pirates.

Chiefs won the pre-season friendly last year‚ and it was the only thing they celebrated in a miserable campaign.

“Going two seasons without a trophy has been a bitter pill to swallow‚” Khune said.

“This hasn’t happened before in my time with the club. We are the ones who put ourselves in this situation. It’s very important that we take ourselves out of it.” - TimesLIVE