SOWETO giants Kaizer Chiefs have set their sights on reviving their hopes of qualifying for a CAF competition next season as they travel to Durban for a Premiership clash this afternoon.
Amakhosi tackle relegation strugglers Richards Bay FC at King Zwelithini Stadium at 3pm with both teams looking to change the trajectory of their respective seasons.
The Naturena-based club have won just one of their last nine matches in all competitions, including elimination from the Nedbank Cup – the only trophy that was left available to them.
With no silverware on the table, Chiefs have now turned their attention to attempting to sneak into the top three spots in the Premiership.
The Glamour Boys have a 10-point gap between them and second-placed Stellenbosch FC, with arch rivals Orlando Pirates seven points away in third place.
Having seemingly squandered their chances by losing three of their last four league games, Chiefs look set to try and make a late surge up the table with seven games of the 2023/24 campaign to go.
Chiefs striker Ranga Chivaviro spoke to the media ahead of the club’s trip to KwaZulu-Natal on a mission of compromised hopes.
The 31-year-old expressed confidence in Chiefs being able to emerge with a positive result against the Natal Rich Boyz, having had more than 10 days to reconfigure themselves.
“We’ve had a short break since it was the Nedbank Cup (weekend), so we’ve had more time on the pitch to try and find football solutions that can help us get the three points against Richards Bay,” Chivaviro said.
The Limpopo-born striker also expressed that he and his teammates have taken full responsibility for the club’s recent poor performances and said the group had agreed to give it their all to finish in the top three.
“We are also mindful of the fact that they’re not in a good position and so are we. We take cognisance of the fact that we need to finish the season strong, we need to qualify for a CAF position and it’s our mandate, it’s something we’ve all agreed upon,” he said assuringly.
“Obviously we talk about how much we’ve been disappointing to ourselves and our fans as well and as difficult as it is, we ask them to keep on supporting us and rally behind us because in these tough times is when we need them the most. But we believe we’re going to be victorious this weekend.”
The home side have even more pressing problems in their camp as they face the high probability of going into the promotion/relegation play-offs.
Head coach Vusumuzi Vilakazi hopes his group will be fired up by the occasion “of facing the mighty Kaizer Chiefs” and be ready to meet high standards in front of what is expected to be a packed stadium in Umlazi.