Arthur Zwane on AmaZulu beating Kaizer Chiefs to third spot and CAF Confederation Cup qualification - 'You guys think I’m crazy'

AmaZulu head coach Arthur Zwane remains adamant that his side can secure a spot in the CAF Confederation Cup next season, even as they trail his former employers, Kaizer Chiefs by five points with three games left to play.

Usuthu missed an opportunity to apply maximum pressure after a 1-1 draw with Golden Arrows at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Wednesday night, but Zwane is refusing to give up on the dream of a top-three finish in the Betway Premiership.

“You guys think I’m crazy,” Zwane told the media with conviction, as reported by Soccer Laduma.

“You know I’ve always been a winner. I don’t compromise, and sometimes when I talk, people think I’m dreaming. But I’ve always been a dreamer. Whenever I dream, I make sure it becomes a reality. That’s who I am.”

The coach believes the nine points still available in the final three matches are enough to bridge the five-point deficit currently separating them from Amakhosi, especially since the sides meet in a CAF qualifying "six-pointer" in Durban on May 16.

Zwane pointed to his own career trajectory as evidence that he can achieve the impossible, recalling how he was largely dismissed during his transition from player to coach.

He noted that even during his playing days at Orlando Pirates and beyond, many felt he would fail to reach the pinnacle of South African football.

“When I became a coach, no one thought I’d ever make it to this level as a PSL coach," he declared.

"Even when I started as a professional player, no one gave me a chance. Back then, I played alongside some of the best - top, top players of my generation - and people doubted me.

"They thought if I didn’t make it at Orlando Pirates, I wouldn’t make it anywhere. But I proved them wrong.

"Personally, I’ve always been a fighter. I might take longer than expected to achieve my goals, but I always get there. That’s my mindset,” he added.

The 52-year-old also revisited a famous prediction he made nearly two decades ago regarding his coaching ambitions.

He used his eventual appointment at Naturena as proof that speaking his goals into existence produces results, suggesting that AmaZulu's current hunt for a top-three spot follows a similar pattern of manifestation.

“While I still played, I said to people, I was going to be a coach, and I was going to coach Kaizer Chiefs, and people thought I was dreaming," he said.

"That was 2006, and I retired in 2010. So, in 2006, there was an article that was in an Amakhosi magazine where I said I'm going to coach Kaizer Chiefs.

"When I retired, some people thought I was dreaming. Yes, I was dreaming, all right. So, it manifested because I said it in my own mind,” Zwane explained.

Regarding the current season, he concluded: “I believe that, as much as we are struggling in certain areas, we are still good enough to finish in the top three. It’s all up to us.

"[Wednesday], we missed an opportunity to close the gap, but we still have three games to go, and we’re going to fight for every single point.

"As disappointed as I am right now, I still believe we can finish stronger. That’s my prayer,” Zwane concluded.

Next up for Zwane's side are relegation-threatened Orbit College at Olympia Park in Rustenburg on May 9.

The it is onto the crunch clash with Chiefs on May 16, before they finish the season with a derby against Durban City on May 23.

Win all three and Zwane's continental "dream" will likely come true.