SuperSport United coach Kaitano Tembo admits that the makeshift strike partnership of Evans Rusike and James Keene still has some way to go.

The long-term injuries to star strikers Thabo Mnyamane and Bradley Grobler have led to a new pairing.

After their 2-1 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns in the Tshwane derby on Sunday, Tembo implied he could be ready to give another player a chance to lead the attack.

"It [the partnership] hasn't really worked. Evans is the quick one so we need him to be more mobile and get onto the ball more to play off James," Tembo said.

"Ghampani Lungu did very well [against Sundowns] after the substitution. Since the injury to Bradley we have been lacking that quality where we can play off a player who can hold the ball and bring in our other players into the attack."

The team will next face Kaizer Chiefs away on December 12, Maritzburg United home on December 15 and Highlands Park on December 23 (away).

The Zimbabwean mentor wants his team to maintain their position in the top eight heading into the New Year.

"It's going to be a very tough month for us. With the injuries that we have we will have our top players back in January or February," said Tembo.

"We have three games to go and we need to grind results to stay within touching distance of the top teams."