Baroka want place in Cup history
Celtic also eye winning the final
Judging by Baroka’s position in the Absa Premiership table, many would suggest safety from relegation will remain their number one priority.
But that’s not the case with coach Dylan Kerr who has set his sights on winning the Nedbank Cup title.
Baroka will restart the Premier Soccer League (PSL) campaign with a Nedbank Cup semifinal clash against Bloemfontein Celtic at Orlando Stadium tomorrow (2pm).
While they remain far from being safe in the relegation, Kerr insists he will not prioritise any matches.
“I’ve got seven cup finals before the cup final, so every game is important, not just one, every single game,” Kerr said in a virtual press conference. “We’ve got the Nedbank Cup semifinal, then a week later, we’ve got the league final against AmaZulu. So the team selection will be done on who is ready, who I think will be the best player in the park or I think someone who can manage himself well in the game in the first five or 30 minutes and in the last 10 minutes of the game.”
Having tasted success in a cup competition in 2018 when they won the Telkom Knockout title, Kerr wants the players to make history again by winning the Nedbank Cup.
“While it is good to be in the semifinal, you have done nothing until you achieve something and that’s what I have been telling my players, that you may never get a chance again to be in the Nedbank Cup final.
“This is an opportunity, you failed twice before so I told them to put themselves in the history of SA football... to get to the final and win it. Nobody remembers runners-up; they always remember the winners.”
In the meantime, Celtic new coach John Maduka said he plans to guide the team to win what would be their first Nedbank Cup title should they go all the way.
“It is one cup that Celtic has never won before, so it will be very important for us to go out and win it.
“For us to win this cup we have to beat Baroka first and that’s where the focus is.”