Solomons warns Chiefs: a fast start means nothing without consistency
Dillan Solomons has told Kaizer Chiefs not to get comfortable after a strong opening to the 2025/26 Betway Premiership.
Amakhosi are unbeaten after five league games — three wins, two draws — and sit just behind Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates.
It looks familiar. Last season they also won four and drew one of their first five, then lost their way after the international break.
That is the warning the 30-year-old wing-back wants heard under new head coach Fernando Da Cruz.
“Last season we were in a similar position, in our first five games we were really good, we were also unbeaten,” Solomons said.
“Then after the (international) break, that is where things went a bit sideways for us. A good start is positive but we have to come back from the long break and try to keep our consistency and keep winning games.”
Chiefs still have work before that break. On Saturday they face Polokwane City at Peter Mokaba Stadium, then host Golden Arrows the following week.
Should they beat Polokwane, they will leapfrog Pirates and move into second place although the Buccaneers have a few games in hand.
They meet Polokwane off a 3-2 home win over Siwelele. Solomons was clear: the points were good, the performance was not.
“The result was positive for us, but the way the game went, we were not really happy,” added the 30-year-old. “We will take the result and the three points, but in the way we present ourselves we want to be better than what we showed.
“We must try to be more defensively sound and to limit our mistakes at the back. But we did really well looking at our circumstances of having three not-so-tall boys up front.
“We kept the ball and made their defenders run and that paid off really well. We need to improve a lot of things but that comes with time.”
Against Rise and Shine, he expects a physical, transitional test.
“We have been working hard this week on exposing their weaknesses, and on how to control the game and frustrate them,” says the former Swallows man.
“We know they are a transitional team and we need to keep the ball and make sure they don’t get those transitions. They are also a physical team and we need to go with the mindset that they will be physical and we need to impose ourselves. I think we are ready for the challenge and hopefully we can come back with the result.”
