This one will not escape us, says Dan
SPURRED on by their impressive MTN8 debut Chippa United are looking to double their efforts in the Telkom Knockout Cup.
Coach Dan “Dance” Malesela said he is well aware of the pressure the team is under to succeed as the side take on Premier Soccer League rookies Highlands Park in the last 16 at Makhulong Stadium tomorrow (kick-off 8pm).
Chippa beat Platinum Stars in the quarterfinals before losing 1-0 to Mamelodi Sundowns over two semifinal legs.
“The preparations are going well so far,” said Malesela. “We know that we lost out on the MTN8 Cup. We were actually talking about it at training, saying we do not want to keep counting missed trophies.
“We are aware of the pressure that is on us to do well. What makes matters tougher now is that they [Highlands] have signed a new coach.
“We thought we would know how to approach our game against them, now we will have to change things.”
The coach says the biggest lesson they have learnt was to take their chances and make the right decisions at crucial moments.
“Those chances come once,” he said. “If I am given an exam in matric and I do not study for it I only have one shot to make it otherwise I will have to repeat the grade next year.
“We want to see our name in the paper. We do not want to be like matriculants at the end of the year and open pages slowly because we have that fear that our name might not be in the paper.
“That is the lesson we have learnt from the MTN8, that we have one chance in this game.”
Malesela said his troops will go for every piece of silverware on offer this season and will not stop until they clinch their first trophy.
He said the aim was not to just participate in cup competition but to win something.
Asked if striker Rhulani Manzini’s injury had contributed to Chippa not scoring goals Malesela said: “No. I think after Rhulani got injured the only challenge that we had was to identify who can combine with who to score our goals.
“We need to find the right personnel – I think that is the only challenge we have.”