Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp has welcomed the three points they claimed against Cape Town City on Sunday afternoon at FNB Stadium but lamented their lack of excellence.
The German mentor also explained his decisions when it comes to changes he made at half-time, saying he wanted to relieve some of his players after playing three games in seven days.
Chiefs opened the gap in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) table to nine points and the coach has turned his focus to the struggling Black Leopards in a clash slated for the next Saturday.
“I think this was not a game of excellence but it was the third game in seven days and under the circumstances, I believe we have shown a certain character out of managing the game in the right moments and to score and make it happen," Middendorp told SuperSport TV.
"There was not a lot of doubt we had to make sure the opponent doesn’t come even close.
“Of course let me mention, it was a bit selfish of us as everybody wanted to score and we had four against three moments. We will discuss it internally, in the end to get three points out of three games now with a start to 2020 – I think compliments to each and everybody."
Speaking about the changes he made at half-time to bring on Happy Mashiane and Dumisani Zuma for Kearyn Baccus and Leonardo Castro, the German boss added that he wanted to overload the Citizens' left wing.
“We wanted to overload their left side a little bit and we wanted the stretch them a little bit,” he added.
“We really executed it but there should be runs from (Siphosakhe) Ntiya-Ntiya but so far it was just about to look to Leonardo, having heavy legs of course. With Kearyn, we wanted to bring two fresh legs."
With the Soweto giants having stretched their lead to nine points from Mamelodi Sundowns, Middendorp remains wary of Black Leopards whom they face next weekend.
"The game (against Leopards) it doesn’t matter who you play, these are probably the most difficult one,” he continued.
“We will think about Black Leopards during the week, with the coaching changes, two games lost and we have sent somebody to their game (against Bloemfontein Celtic) to record and take notes.”
