Zitha Kwinika: Building a Winning Habit at Kaizer Chiefs

Zitha Kwinika has barely missed a step, never mind a minute.

Five games into the new campaign, the 32-year-old has anchored the Kaizer Chiefs defence alongside new partner Inacio Miguel, and he likes what he sees taking shape around him.

“We have proven in the games we have played that we are a different team compared to last season,” Kwinika said, speaking to KickOff. “The style of play and the structure show there’s improvement.”

It’s his fifth season back at Naturena, and the changes under the new technical team are obvious to him. Training feels different. The patterns are clearer. The demands, sharper.

“There are new tactics that are being placed and we are trying to get to a certain way of playing that we enjoy,” he explained. “We are getting better as a team.”

Smaller teams, bigger focus

If there’s a scar that still stings at Chiefs, it’s the habit of spilling points against so-called smaller sides. That soft underbelly has cost them in title races and in the battle for continental spots. Kwinika knows it. The dressing room knows it.

So when Richards Bay appear on the schedule, there is no sense of a routine midweek assignment.

Ahead of Wednesday night’s clash at Princess Magogo Stadium, Kwinika made it clear these fixtures now carry the same emotional weight as the Soweto Derby.

“Obviously, Richards Bay is a difficult team to play against, yes, we give them the respect,” he said. “But we also have our objectives, so we know what we expect and we have prepared well for them.

“This season, we are on a different mission of saying the games that we need to collect points from are such games. We must win these games.”

No hiding behind clichés there. For a club stuck in a long league-title drought, dropping points in matches like this is no longer something they can simply “learn from” and move on.

Building a winning habit

Consistency has become the watchword under coach Fernando Da Cruz. Not in theory, in results.

Kwinika is blunt about what it will take to build the mentality required to chase down the Betway Premiership crown.

“Obviously, to keep the momentum is for us to get positive results,” he said. “I think that is the best way to keep the momentum, getting good results, mainly winning games. That’s the only way to keep the momentum going in the environment and the confidence.

“So, I think getting used to winning is important because it just creates an environment of winners and winners get stronger by day.”

The message is simple: no more stop-start runs, no more one step forward, two steps back. Chiefs need streaks, not flashes.

New blood, new energy

Behind that push lies another crucial shift: the blend of youth and new signings beginning to click around the senior core.

Kwinika has watched youngsters like Langelihle Phili and Luke Baartman step into the starting XI and change the mood at the training ground. Their emergence, he says, is not just a nice story; it’s a sign that the squad is moving in the right direction.

“The new players are gelling well,” he said. “To name, like your Phili scored a goal and your Baartman, yes, they have been with the team but now getting an opportunity to start games.

“That shows we are in the right direction, and most players are understanding what’s required from them.”

For years, Chiefs have spoken about rebuilding, about projects and processes. Kwinika’s words carry a different edge. Less talk of patience, more insistence on points, wins, habits.

Richards Bay away is exactly the kind of fixture that has tripped them up before.

If this really is a “different mission”, as Kwinika calls it, nights like Wednesday will prove it. Or expose it.