Thanda looking to increase gap
Perhaps the question left to ask Thanda Royal Zulu is: have the preparations for life in the Absa Premiership started yet?
Asked this question yesterday, Amabhubesi team manager, Jomo Biyela said: “No, we haven’t started with Premiership preparations as yet.” He added: “The only preparations we are making are for our next game against Black Leopards because we need to focus on our NFD campaign. Once we get to 66 points, then maybe we can start talking about the Premiership.”
Thanda are still top of the standings, a position they have held since the beginning of the season and have a healthy nine-point gap ahead of second-placed Leopards.
Biyela said the secret to their success has been simple: “We always preach to our players that they must respect all their opponents and fight hard for full points. That is what we have instilled in them from the beginning of the season,” he said.
He hailed the understanding between the technical and management teams as having made things easy for head coach Roger Sikhakhane to work his magic.
“We have been able to work together with management and technical team. There is an understanding … we know the coach’s philosophy and we recruit players who complement that. We have experienced players who have played at the top level with the likes of Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, SuperSport United and Maritzburg United … we have a small squad which makes it easy to manage personalities.”
He said they are aware that Lidoda Duvha will be a wounded beast when they meet them tomorrow afternoon. Leopards suffered an unexpected home defeat to Real Kings on Saturday afternoon, while Amabhubesi drew 1-1 with Jomo Cosmos on Sunday.
“We know they are a threat, but the number of points separating us gives us a little comfort. The teams behind them are closing in on them and that makes them dangerous because they will want to maintain that gap,” he said.
He did eventually admit that if they win tomorrow’s match, they will be able to dare their suitors to “catch us if they can”.
“If we win against Leopards I don’t think any team will be able to catch us afterwards because we would have to lose all of our remaining six matches while they’d have to win all theirs,” added Biyela.