AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy has described Kaizer Chiefs players as “incredible” with a “big-match temperament” ahead of the two sides’ Premier Soccer League meeting at Jonsson Kings Park Stadium on Saturday.
Chiefs are enduring a difficult start to their season having won just one of their five league games.
Their struggles include a 4-1 defeat by Royal AM and a 0-0 draw against 15th-placed Marumo Gallants in matches their players have been heavily criticised for failing to rise to the occasion.
They were also held to a goalless draw by basement side TS Galaxy as their coach Stuart Baxter’s tactics have also been criticised.
But McCarthy describes Chiefs as “a fearsome team” who can punish any side.
“We are finding our groove now and we want to maintain it but we know we are up against a fearsome team with incredible players,” McCarthy told AmaZulu media.
“On their day they can punish or hurt any team in the league. I mean any team. But if you prepare and get them on a day when they are not at their best, then you must capitalise like other teams did.
“But we know Kaizer Chiefs will always bounce back. They have players with big-match temperaments. We are preparing for a clash of the titans.
“I think at this stage in the league, every team is a big one. There are no more easy matches, every team shows the quality and the calibre they have, fantastic players they have. So when you prepare, you are always preparing for a big one.”
AmaZulu also started their season with a difficult run but they now appear to have picked themselves up.
They won their last match against Baroka and drew three previous ones after losing their first game of the season.
McCarthy, however, says they are trying to focus on themselves and not Chiefs.
“We prepare the way we do for every single match. We are trying to focus on ourselves more. We fix what we need to,” said McCarthy.
“We watch, analyse and study videos of the opposition but we don’t try and worry too much about them, we just make sure we don’t play into their hands and into their strengths. We make the most of the game, what we want to do.
“It is our home game and we need to control the pace of the game, so that is why we focus on ourselves a lot. We are ready to fight, we are ready to go to war and do what we need to do and go for all three points.”
Chiefs are currently fourth from the bottom while Usuthu are seventh on the standings.
