Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp believes his side is reaping the benefits of hard work both on and off the pitch, after many laughed off their title ambitions at the start of the season.

Amakhosi currently top the Absa Premiership standings after their 2-0 win over second-placed Sundowns over the weekend extended their lead to five points.

Middendorp has turned things around at Naturena after a disastrous 2018-19 season, when he was only in charge for the second half of the campaign.

Speaking to reporters after the win over Downs, the coach recalled a moment at the league’s launch where many laughed off his suggestions that Chiefs will challenge for the league.

‘I was sitting in the Absa building and preparing for the league and there were people sitting in front of me when I said we are challenging for the league. I believe 98% were laughing and they had a smile,’ said the German.

‘We have done things in a certain direction, how to prepare and having a certain mentality. We had habits of being confident and worked on it off the field and off it. Every month, once or twice, we even have activities. We learnt from our mistakes and we got something out of it. We can’t do the same things and expect a different result. You have to be patient, it’s difficult for me, but that is part of the soccer industry,’ he concluded.

Chiefs are next in action in the Soweto Derby against Orlando Pirates in the quarter-finals of the Telkom Knockout at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.