Molefi Ntseki said all the right things yesterday as he looked ahead to a match that could well add more pressure on his already beleaguered position as coach of Kaizer Chiefs.
Escorted off the pitch by the police for the second time since taking over as coach during the close season on Wednesday night at Peter Mokaba Stadium, following the club’s 1-0 Premiership defeat by SuperSport United, Ntseki admitted that he will have to beat Mamelodi Sundowns in tomorrow’s MTN8 semi-final second-leg if he is to get the fans off his and the team’s back.
“It’s Wafa-Wafa (winner takes all). We are looking forward to the game. We are looking forward to impose ourselves. We are looking to do our best in this game, to win the game and be in the final,” Ntseki said.
“It will be a humdinger type of a game. We are mentally fully aware of what is ahead of us and what is expected of us.”
All good until the whistle to start the match is blown at the Lucas Moripe Stadium tomorrow.
Such clichéd coaching talk hardly ever delivers the results, and Ntseki would have done well to have used the little time he had with his team prior to the clash in which they have the disadvantage of having conceded in the first leg 1-1 draw to work on getting his team to realise that goals – and not dominating possession – wins matches.
Chiefs were all over SuperSport on Wednesday, but they just did not have the requisite sharpness to make their domination bear fruit in the final third.
It was the same story in the match before when they drew with Royal AM.
Ntseki is a glass-half-full type of coach, though, and chose to look on the bright side of their recent performances.
“We are going in (to the match) very courageous, knowing very well that the only results that will serve or help us in our objective is to give a good performance and winning this game,” the former Bafana Bafana coach said.
“We are working on something that will ultimately work for Kaizer Chiefs. In the last two matches, the chances we created, the ball possession and the confidence that we have built – this will be our approach to the game.
“We are fully aware that they are a quality side, as much as we are also a quality side. It will be a highly tactical game.
“We are looking forward to it, and we have hope and believe that this is a time for us to do it.”
For them to “do it”, Ntseki’s team will have to be much sharper in front of goal, and the likes of Jasond Gonzalez – who is yet to score a goal to live with the billing he came with when he was signed – will have to be “more composed in front of goals”.
The coach explained that the Venezuelan striker is yet to settle into the team, while another frontman who also came in highly recommended, Ranga Tshivaviro, is working on regaining his form following injury.
Ntseki believes having the two makes for good competition, and that the club will benefit hugely from them once they both fully find their footing.
At Amakhosi, though, new players and even coaches are expected to hit the ground running, and with the club striving to bring an end to their eightyear trophy drought, there is no time to waste.
It could be that anything less than victory at Sundowns tomorrow and Ntseki might well find himself needing police protection even away from the stadiums.