Igesund: Cape Cup a launchpad for PSL title charge
GORDON IGESUND plans to use the Cape Town Cup as an exercise to “try out a few things” as he prepares his SuperSport United squad for a tilt at the Premier Soccer League (PSL) title this season.
The four-team event, which includes two overseas clubs in Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon and Crystal Palace from England, is scheduled to kick off at the Cape Town Stadium on Friday.
Igesund’s SuperSport open the tournament with a fixture against Palace at 5.45pm, with Ajax Cape Town taking on Sporting at 8.15pm. It continues on Sunday, when the two losers do battle at 1pm, and the two winners squaring up in the final of the event at 3.30pm.
For Igesund, the fact that he can put SuperSport through an intensive pre-season programme is a massive boost. He linked up with the Pretoria club in Septem- ber last year after his stint as Bafana Bafana head coach came to an end. At that time, SuperSport were in deep trouble, situated towards the basement of the PSL log. But Igesund, as usual, worked his magic, got the players to believe in themselves, and SuperSport went on to win the Telkom Knockout Cup and finish in a respectable sixth position on the league table.
“I thought we were fantastic last season, considering where we were at one stage,” said Igesund. “I’m just glad to be able to now have a pre-season with the team and I can work on their fitness levels. The former Bafana coach, who has won the PSL title with Manning Rangers in Durban, Orlando Pirates in Joburg, Santos in Cape Town and Sundowns in Pretoria, has no doubt about his intentions for the season.
“We certainly want to be challenging for the PSL title,” said Igesund.