Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane has revealed his biggest headache ahead of the back-to-back Soweto derby matches for the club.
Amakhosi will host Swallows in the first derby at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Monday, 1 May. They will then take on their rivals Orlando Pirates in the long-awaited Nedbank Cup semi-final at FNB Stadium five days later.
It is a known fact that all attention tends to focus on the derby match between Chiefs and Pirates for the players even if there are matches to play before.
Zwane, who has played in the Soweto derby in the colours of both Chiefs and Pirates, admits it’s a difficult task to manage the players as the match is already on everybody’s lips.
This is despite both teams having fixtures to honour before Saturday’s match.
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“Sometimes the derby can make you forget about what’s important,” alluded Zwane.
“It’s something that is very key for us as a technical team in terms of how we manage the players.
“Fortunately, some of us who played in these games know how important it is for us to focus on collecting points just before the derby.
“So what is important for us is to take one game at a time and focus on this one. As soon as we play on Monday, then we will start focusing on the Pirates one. “Though it’s a bit difficult because already people are talking about the derby, especially after a great performance like this, people are already thinking of Pirates, nit even Swallows.”
ON MANAGING THE PLAYERS TO FOCUS ON THE SWALLOWS GAME
“It gets into our players’ ears and they start thinking about the derby. so we have to manage it and we even ran into that situation as well while we were still playing. I think we have the advantage of helping these players on how to manage themselves.”
Chiefs will take on a Swallows side who are not yet safe from the relegation chop. Amakhosi on the other hand still have eyes on the CAF Champions League spot.
“A difficult one to play because we are playing against a team that is fighting for their lives,” he said.
“They are not going to make it easy for us or give it to us on a silver platter. We will have to give a good performance like today [against Chippa United].
“If we approach the game with the same mentality and the mindset, I see no problem with us getting maximum points,” added Zwane.
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