Kaizer Chiefs head coach Vladimir Vermezovic put on a brave face after losing his two first choice goalkeepers, Bafana Bafana number one Itumeleng Khune and the SA unde-20 budding star Thela Ngobeni, in the space of a week.

'Amakhosi' football manager Bobby Motaung moved quickly to sign veteran 37-year-old Arthur Bartman on a two year deal that could see him make his debut in Sunday's MTN8 semi-final, second leg showdown at the Orlando Stadium. Kick-off is at 3pm.

Ajax lead 1-0 from last weekend's controversial first leg in which Chiefs fans went on the rampage and resulted in Chiefs being fined R500 000 of which R150 000 is suspended and the club ordered to do TV and radio ads to educate their supporters.

Bartman is a free agent and played for Bay United who were relegated at the end of last season.

Khune is out for three months with a hand injury, while Ngobeni will miss two weeks after hurting his jaw in a collision with SuperSport united striker Glen Salmon, during Chiefs 1-0 loss against the PSL champions in a league match played at the Super Stadium on Tuesday.

Said Vermezovic: "There is no crisis. Injuries happen in football and we have to deal with them."

The Serbian-born coach will discuss his goalkeeping problem with his goalkeeping coach, Rainer Dinkelacker. "I have only worked with Bartman once (Thursday) but will talk to Rainer and then it will be up to me to make a final decision on who plays in goal."

His other choice is Kabelo Metsimetsi, who Chiefs bought from First Division club Carara Kicks in the off-season. But Metsimetsi has not played in a competitive game for Chiefs.

Bartman said he was surprised when he got Motaung's phone call on Monday night. "I last played for Chiefs 10 years ago under coach Paul Dolezar, and did not sleep on Monday night.

"I was excited and a bit nervous, but I was thrilled to come back to Chiefs.

"At 37 and after Bay United were relegated, I did not expect to rejoin Chiefs, but this is a fantastic challenge for me."

The move has given Bartman a new lease of life and the keeper who has played for 16 clubs in his career, admitted it would be tough being thrown into the deep end.

"I have done five weeks pre-season training with Bay, but have not played since last season, so I am a bit rusty. It is going to be hard to go into Sunday's semi-final against Ajax as I do not know the players and have only trained with the team today (Thursday), but I am ready and determined to do my best if selected.

"It would be a dream return to play in a major cup match for Chiefs."

Vermezovic said he will attack Ajax in order to score a quick goal and level the tie. "I walked in new territory this week. It was the first time in my career that I lost two consecutive games, and it was not a pleasant experience.

"But I believe a win on Sunday will lift the cloud over us and put us back on track. We know what to do and I will have all my strikers, who missed the SuperSport game, available.

Back are Nkosinathi Nhleko, Jose Torrealba and Tsepo Bulu, who join Kaizer Motaung jr and Knowledge Musona. Motaung was on the wrong end of the boo boys at the Chiefs/United match, but fans need to show patience said Vermezovic.

"Kaizer jr scored five goals in 14 games at the end of last season and he did not become a bad striker overnight. He is top class and needs time to get his confidence back."

But Ajax coach Muhsin Ertugral, believes he knows how Chiefs will play against his Urban Warriors. "I think the coach will change to a 4-4-2 system and use Kaizer jr and Nhleko in attack, and I believe he will field Bartman. I am prepared."

But the Turkish born coach was annoyed with his side's 1-1 away draw against Free State Stars on Wednesday night. "The players were poor and their minds were on the Cup match."