Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt says his side are ready to redeem themselves against Swallows FC in the latest edition of the Soweto derby at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
Hunt will go into his 20th league game as Amakhosi coach looking to avenge his team’s 1-0 defeat by the Birds back in November last year.
The Chiefs mentor was in charge of 16 league derbies against Chiefs and Orlando Pirates during his tenure as Moroka Swallows coach from 2002 to 2007, and has taken charge of three DStv Premiership derbies at Chiefs this season.
Hunt says they will not take Swallows lightly and are ready to fight to the maximum after they were given a week to prepare for the Soweto clash.
‘We were training and looking to improve our overall performance,’ Hunt told his club’s official website. ‘The team has been working hard since last week because this is the longest break we have had for a long time. Hopefully we’re ready to go this evening.
‘I believe the players will rise to the occasion,’ he adds. ‘The guys understand the magnitude of the game and every game for us important now because we haven’t secured our place in the top eight, which is our biggest goal at the moment. We need to push – we have four games left at the moment in the league, but we will take it one game at a time.
‘They have had a good season with a lot of draws. A draw means one point, so they have done well. They have secured their status for next year. For a club that has just been promoted they have a distinct style of play, which is little bit unusual, but it has worked for them.
‘When we played them in the first round, we had a clear goal disallowed and they scored a penalty right at the end,’ he reflects. ‘It was very disappointing to lose that game but that’s gone, it’s history.
‘We have committed huge errors. We deserved much more out of the last two games. In the last game we were 10 men, but we did not deserve to lose the game. We will work on the mental strength of the guys.’
Amakhosi will go into this encounter with a long injury list. Hunt gave an update on Itumeleng Khune, Khama Billiat and a number of key players, who are unavailable for the clash.
‘We’ve got a squad, we must use it. We have a lot of key players not available, so we must use the squad. Itumeleng Khune’s shoulder is not right, so he has not done too much in terms of goalkeeping.
‘He has been doing general fitness stuff, but he has been out since the Chippa game two, three weeks ago. Khama Billiat’s worrying because he was kicked on the same leg that was broken. He is a big blow because we don’t have enough in that department. We are pretty much short as we only have three strikers available,’ Hunt concluded.
