Kaizer Chiefs assistant coach Khalil Ben Youssef has expressed concern over a fixture pile-up as their biggest challenge so far this season.
Since August, the Soweto giants have played seven Betway Premiership matches and two in the CAF Confederation Cup, punctuated by the September FIFA international break. That has seen Chiefs recording five wins, two draws and as many defeats.
After recovering from a three-match winless run by beating Angolan side Kabuscorp SCP on Saturday, to reach the Confederation Cup second preliminary round, Chiefs are now preparing to host AmaZulu FC in a Betway Premiership match on Wednesday at FNB Stadium,. That will be followed by a trip to Cape Town for Sunday’s Carling Knockout Cup Round of 16 clash with Stellenbosch FC.
A crammed fixture schedule with weekend and midweek assignments has been attributed as denying Chiefs adequate time to prepare for games by Ben Youssef. The Tunisian says that has forced them to heavily rely on video analysis as the main tool to plan against opponents.
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“I have to say congratulations to the players because you know it’s now three weeks and we have played games every two days,” Ben Youssef told journalists on Monday.
“We don’t have [enough] training sessions, it’s recovery, [matchday] minus one and then we play games. So we were using a lot of videos and thanks to our analysts, it was also very tough for them, a lot of work in the last three weeks.
“This week, we will continue the same. After tomorrow [Tuesday] we will have a game and on Sunday we will have the Carling Knockout game. When you are in this situation and you don’t have time to work, it’s always difficult to correct, to make something in training.
“But thanks to the players, their professionalism, in every meeting, how we discuss and analyse every situation. We see that even without training we find solutions to correct some mistakes and now we need a lot of time to continue work, correct and fix a lot of things.”
After Sunday’s match, the FIFA break starts and Chiefs take a breather from competitive football. Some Amakhosi players are likely to report for national team duty with their respective countries.
“It [the FIFA break] is very important for us, crucial for us,” Ben Youssef added.
“Mentally it has been tough for the players [balancing] PSL and CAF, games every two days, everyday meetings, training and camp. They need to take some rest.”
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