It s battle of the strugglers at Soccer City

LONG-TIME buddies Steve Komphela and Serame Letsoaka are both having seasons to forget at Kaizer Chiefs and Bloemfontein Celtic respectively.

On many occasions this season, these two gentlemen have cut forlorn figures on the touchline, ruing missed chances and taking flak from their clubs ’ fans.

Think back to before the start of the season when Komphela took over at Amakhosi and was hoping to continue where Stuart Baxter left off, and how Letsoaka was excited to join Golden Arrows and build sustainable success.

But Komphela ’ s team has just not shown they are good enough to win titles just yet under his guidance, while Celtic – the club Letsoaka joined from Arrows – have been counting more defeats than victories since he took over in December.

Both coaches still need to convince supporters they are the right men for the jobs, so they will go all out to ensure they win the battle at FNB Stadium tonight (7.30).

Amakhosi host Phunya SeleSele eager to move back up to third spot, while 12thplaced Celtic believe they can still finish in the top eight.

“We don ’ t want to lose matches and even in matches that we have lost, we felt bad,” said Komphela after Chiefs ’ 3-1 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns at the weekend.

Letsoaka ’ s men hammered Ajax Cape Town 5-0 on Sunday and he will be hoping for another clinical performance.

“It has been a difficult season. Taking over a team in the middle of the season is not easy. I think we will have a much better season [in 2016-2017],” Letsoaka said.

He added: “It will be a difficult [match]. Chiefs are facing us after losing to Sundowns and they don ’ t want to lose two in a row. We will have a cautious approach.”

Chiefs are without Lorenzo Gordinho and Celtic will miss Alfred Ndengane, both due to suspension.