Having already declared that Kaizer Chiefs will compete to win every soccer trophy this season, coach Fernando da Cruz has emphasised that a positive start in the Betway Premiership is vital to set the tone.
Fresh from winning the pre-season Toyota Cup on Sunday, Amakhosi are targeting a good start when they visit rookies Kruger United in their first match of the season at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday (8pm).
“Our ambition is to win trophies this season, for sure, because we are a big club with a big history,” Da Cruz said at the season launch on Wednesday.
“We have a lot of ambitions, but our first step is to start very well in the championship.
“After that, during the season, we will take [it] step by step to do our best and win trophies.
“We won the Toyota Cup and we are in a positive dynamic, players are confident and we want to spread this dynamic to improve our level and results.”
With expectations high, Da Cruz is ready for the pressure that lies ahead and said he knew how to deal with it.
“I know. I have been in pressure situations before and there is no problem for me,” he said.
“I’m used to managing the pressure around me and we need our fans behind us to push us to get the best results. Our fans are passionate. They love the club and my job is to make good decisions every day.
“We had a good feeling on Sunday with a lot of fans pushing us on the field.”
Da Cruz also gave an update on defender Rushwin Dortley, who is edging closer to his long-awaited return, having resumed ball work and light training following a delayed recovery from serious knee surgery that kept him out of action last season.
“We have to be very careful with him because he hasn’t played in the last 18 months. It was a tough injury with two surgeries.
“But we are managing him every day and every week. We will go step by step because we don’t want that when he comes back he will have another injury, so we have to be careful.” — Sowetan