Dan Malesela hopes that his Chippa United side can stand up to the challenge of Mamelodi Sundowns, when the two team’s lock horns in an Absa Premiership encounter tonight.

The two clubs recently played in a league match at Sisa Dukashe Stadium, with the match ending in a 1-1 stalemate. That match was overshadowed by poor pitch conditions which made playing soccer difficult but for tonight’s clash in Pretoria both teams can expect a better playing surface.

The Chilli Boys made a promising start to the season but their recent form doesn’t make for good reading. The Port Elizabeth-based outfit only have one victory in 2017 and that was against bottom of the log, Baroka.

Malesela says that there is only so much that he can do as a coach and that it is ultimately up to the players to perform on the pitch.

‘I don’t have to rectify anything, they must do it, it’s not up to me. For sure the drop is evident for everybody to see. Now it is up to the players to man up,’ Malesela said, according to KickOff. 

The former Sundowns youth coach believes that if his team doesn’t show the right temperament, then they will face an uphill battle against the defending PSL champions.

‘I’m worried most about the character because if you don’t have character and you going to Pretoria … you don’t have the strength to face Sundowns, then you are going to face problems,’ he added.

The former Cape Town All Stars coach is hopeful that he can help turn his side’s form around.

‘It’s not the end and we have to fix these things. That is why we are here and that is why we are coaches, we’ve got to fix this.’ Malesela concluded.

Chippa United and Mamelodi Sundowns go head-to-head at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium this evening.

Kick-off is set for 19:30.