Celtic will not take anything for granted

Bloemfontein Celtic assistant coach Lehlohonolo Seema (right) says they will not be swayed by Platinum Stars’ limp start to the season when they face them in a Telkom Knockout quarterfinal in Phokeng tomorrow.

Roger de Sa’s side are rock-bottom in the Absa Premiership, though they did pick up their first league win of the season at home to Ajax Cape Town on Wednesday evening.

“It will be a difficult match but we will give it our best shot. The cup games always have their own match temperament and we hope the guys will recover and be fresh for the game,” Seema told Phakaaathi Plus.

“We can see the team is starting to understand what coach Roger de Sa wants from them. The win against Ajax has lifted the spirits of the team,” he added.

However, Seema said he would have liked to have played in front of Celtic’s supporters, as travelling to Rustenburg comes with its minor posers.

“We are playing away, we would have loved to play at home. That is perhaps the only challenge that we will have in terms of travelling because now you have to reshuffle the recovery and the training sessions. But we are experienced, we know how to prepare for this as a technical team,” added the assistant coach.

Although he may not want to be fooled by Stars’ poor league form, he does, however, draw much confidence in his side’s impressive run in the league so far which sees Celtic sitting two points behind leaders Baroka FC.

“Winning becomes a habit, and once you get used to that, the players play freely and are more relaxed. When there is less pressure you can express yourself better and that means the support will keep increasing.

“On the day, the boys should come to the party, that is the most important thing.”