Some two weeks ago, Phunya Sele Sele was targeting the number one spot in the PSL, however, now the mission has changed somewhat, and that is to stay in the top eight of the competition heading into the new year.

Up until recently, Celtic has had the best defence in the PSL, however, back-to-back defeats to Polokwane City, AmaZulu and Highlands Park have seen the team leaking seven goals.

In October, the team was rocked with the news that the star defender, Alfred Ndengane, was released from his contract, a mere five weeks into the new season. The long-awaited return of Wandisile Letlabika from an injury coincided with the departure of Ndengane.

Luckily for Celtic, Letlabika returned in top form, however, the defence is under a lot of pressure as the Soweto giants, Kaizer Chiefs, have insisted on the return of the Bafana Bafana defender, Lorenzo Gordinho, who was in Bloemfontein on a loan deal.

This leaves Letlabika with a much bigger role to play in organising the defence, and in the process, he has to form a relationship and an understanding in the new man, Thato Lingwati, at a speedy rate.

“The defence is a like puzzle, if you take away one part you need the perfect fit,” Komphela told OFM Sport.

“Up until you find the perfect fit, you can fit a piece with the same shape, but it doesn’t fit. We suffered with Ndengane as we could feel that there was a bit of looseness in the defence. We paired Letlabika with Gordinho after coming back after not playing for quite some time after his serious injury. Lorenzo is on the verge of leaving, so we have to start introducing Thato Lingwati, who up until not has not played.

“Wandi is highly intelligent and very gifted technically and his game intelligence comes naturally. I'm hoping that his influence on Lingwati will give us something that we can survive with for the remaining 16 matches. It is important that they develop an understanding very quickly.”

Celtic will conclude their year on Saturday when they face Benni McCarthy’s Cape Town City at the Cape Town Stadium.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport