Milutin Sredojevic: We are not undermining Kaizer Chiefs, but Orlando Pirates will go all out for win

Orlando Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic says they will respect Kaizer Chiefs and the funny nature of the game of football as the two Soweto giants prepare to face off on Saturday afternoon.

'Micho' said he cannot talk about defender Alfred Ndengane's situation at the club, saying relevant people will do so, but he acknowledged the centre back's calibre.

“We are an organised football club with boundaries and I must get permission to speak on that. You all know he (Alfred Ndengane) is there. A player of his quality can get so much value to the team,” Sredojevic said to the media on Thursday.

On the Telkom Knockout Cup semi-final match at the Moses Mabhida Stadium which is set to get underway at 15h00, the Serbian coach said they will not undermine Amakhosi.

The match follows last month's 2-1 win for the Buccaneers in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) match and the coach insisted that they want to bring smiles to the Ghost family, adding that they started their preparations on Wednesday.

“We have to be respectful of the opponent and the funny nature of the game. We will stretch ourselves to the human and sports limits. We want to bring smiles to the Happy People,” he added.

“We started yesterday (Wednesday) to fully prepare as we had a lot of players with the national teams. We are aware of what this match brings. We must pay attention to details and approach the game with the highest degree of respect,” reacted the former Uganda coach.

Just like Chiefs coach Giovanni Solinas, Sredojevic had some of his players away on international assignments during the previous Fifa break and he said a player like Vincent Pule will have to undergo a fitness test to determine his readiness.

“We have seen he played a full game on Tuesday (against Paraguay). Pule will have to pass a late fitness test to prove that he's ready,” continued the manager.

“We will see in tomorrow's last training session. We are hoping that he will be part of the match,” concluded the coach.

With the coach yet to lose to their counterparts since taking over the reigns at Pirates in three PSL matches, 'Micho' will hope to secure his first TKO Cup win over Chiefs.

Sredojevic has bagged two PSL wins and one draw against the Naturena-based club since his arrival last season, but the Ghost are yet to beat Chiefs out of three cup meetings.

To decide who will meet Baroka FC or Bidvest Wits in the final in December, the sold out affair will be played in Durban on Saturday afternoon.