Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt says his side have to mentally prepare for their upcoming DStv Premiership clash with an unpredictable Chippa United side on Wednesday.
The Soweto giants will be highly motivated to claim all three points when they welcome the Chilli Boys to the FNB Stadium for the next league clash following their win over Mamelodi Sundowns in their previous match.
However, Amakhosi Chiefs will head into the match without the services of star Khama Billiat, who picked up an injury that prevented him from finishing the game this past Sunday.
Although Hunt was delighted with their victory over Sundowns, he would like to be picking up maximum points on a more regular basis.
‘The most important thing was to get three points after we lost to Cape Town City,’ Hunt told his club’s official website.
‘If we had beaten City and lost to Sundowns people would have said, “Oh, OK”, but obviously we were disappointed about Cape Town City and then we went and won against Sundowns.
‘Games against a team such as Chippa are difficult. We need to get ourselves mentally ready as they will be very motivated because they are fighting for their lives. We have not been good at home for whatever reason, so it’s important for us to come out with the right mindset and do our best.
‘We can’t get ourselves involved in their personnel changes. I think it’s more about what we do with the ball on the day. Just like Sunday, you can have all the plans in the world but it’s important how you play with and without the ball.’
He added: ‘As I keep saying, the mental strain on the team is more important than the physical strain because of what happened last season.
‘Coming into this season, we had to get the mental attitude right and sometimes you need to get away from the game, but we have not been able to because we are travelling and playing every few days.
‘With a host of games still to come, I believe we will need to manage ourselves well over the next few weeks. We are playing nine games in four weeks, and five of them are bus trips and possibly a long airplane journey, but we have to be strong and focus. It’s part and parcel of the game.’
