It’s war, not a game, says Chippa coach Heric
Chippa United head coach Vladislav Heric believes the team’s Nedbank Cup final fixture against TTM at the Bloemfontein Stadium on Saturday (6pm) will be no ordinary game.
Saturday’s fixture will be a historic moment for both teams as this will be their first-ever cup final in the elite division.
The 54-year-old Serbian, who previously coached Bay United, knows very well how much winning the trophy would mean to the people of the Eastern Cape.
He is prepared to move mountains for the Chilli Boys to lift the Nedbank Cup.
“We are going for war on Saturday,” Heric said.
“This is war, this is not a game.
“I need soldiers on Saturday because it will be a battle day, it will be pound for pound, inch for inch and muscle for muscle. “It’s a do-or-die game for us. “I don’t see only Chippa in the final but I see Gqeberha.
“For me, this final is a huge game, and it’s an honour to play in the cup final as a coach of Chippa United and as someone from Gqeberha.
“I will do everything in my power to win this game.
“It’s not going to be easy because every final is a 50/50 game and we must be very careful, because the last two good results mean nothing in the final.
“It’s just the confidence that we have and that is what we are going to bring in that cup final.”
Heric said mental preparation was the only thing that would matter on the day.
He said the technical team’s main objective was to prepare the players and they had designed their training to focus on mental toughness.
Asked if he had sleepless nights thinking about who he would choose to play on the day, Heric said: “I do, they are all working very hard.
“Everyone wants to be in a cup final. On Monday, we had training with the players who did not participate in the last three games.
“It was a full training session. You could see even in the training that the players were flying and they were trying by all means to convince me to take them along, which I am very proud of.
“Unfortunately, I can only put in 11 people and five substitutes, but I have 36 players.
“Half of my boys will be disappointed but at the end of the day they will get a medal, God willing, and probably that will heal their wounds of not travelling with the team.
“We will see how this goes, this is a very competitive team where players are working hard.
“They take their job seriously and I am pleased with that.
“I will personally fight like a lion to bring the cup to Gqeberha and make the people happy, because whenever I play for this town my thoughts go out to all of these areas where they supported me while I was still coach at Bay United,” he said.
“In Kwazakhele, New Brighton, Zwide, Motherwell and all of those areas where the heart of football is in this town — they will never forget me, I believe, and I will never forget them.
“So that is why I am extra motivated to fight for the cup.”