Masutha eager to get first win

Chippa United’s interim coach, Joel Masutha is confident that the Chilli Boys will turn the corner and start heading in the right direction starting Tuesday night.

The Port Elizabeth-based professional soccer side face Cape Town City in a Premiership fixture at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town.

The former Black Leopards coach arrived in Port Elizabeth last week Monday to dramatically replace axed Eric Tinkler, who failed to get a win for the team in six attempts.

The Chilli Boys are second from the bottom of the log, with 10 points from 12 matches, and Masutha was hired as part of an attempt to save the sinking ship.

After spending a week with his new players, the coach said his team are fired up and ready to take on City.

“The preparations have been going very well since we started on Monday,” said Masutha. “There are not many things that need to change because my predecessor has done well.

“Even coach Dan (Malesela) left a very good foundation. So it’s just for us to work on scoring and at the same time, try to tighten up the back.

“Fortunately, we were not conceding a lot of goals, but I believe that we will be able to score and get the results.

“The team needs positive results. It’s not nice to be where the team is right now.

“Everyone including the media are stressed because this (team) is the pride of the province.

“We have to do everything (in our power) to move up the log and put the team in a much more comfortable position,” he said.

“We have worked on the confidence of players. They must not be afraid to make mistakes, they must not be afraid to take shots at goals.

“So, that is what we were really focusing on and, so far, the players are doing very well.”

Speaking about their opponents, Masutha gave credit to Benni McCarthy for having transformed City into a strong team. But he was quick to add that every team has its own weaknesses.