Kaizer Chiefs captain Itumeleng Khune has defended the defensive rotation policy put in place by coach Giovanni Solinas, saying there is ‘no difference’ between whoever plays in front of him.

Solinas has constantly changed his defensive pairing this season with Siyabonga Ngezana, Eric Mathoho, Mario Booysen, Daniel Cardoso and Teenage Hadebe all catching game time at some point.

Chiefs have, however, struggled defensively and after picking the duo of Booysen and Ngezana, who had only ever played once together, for the Soweto derby looked to backfire on the Italian as his team threw away an early lead to lose 2-1 to their arch-rivals.

Goalkeeper and captain Khune, speaking to the media after the match, was asked if the constant changing of the centre backs has stopped them from forming partnerships and thus influenced their defensive instability.

‘To be quite honest, there’s no difference whoever is playing in front of me. The coach believes in all the players – we believe in all of us‚’ Khune replied.

‘And whoever is given the chance to play‚ we keep working on those combinations at training and even in matches. The coach has asked if any of us has not had a chance to play. We all have played a few matches.

‘Because he’s got a big squad with a lot of players, so he’s trying to manage it by giving everyone a run in the team.

‘That’s his philosophy. And we are here to support him as players. Whenever we are called upon to do duty, we have to play, no matter who is playing alongside me or in front of me,’ concluded the Chiefs captain.

Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix