The chase for a double
FC PLATINUM coach Norman Mapeza would welcome a league and cup double but insists that his team’s focus is only on this afternoon’s Chibuku Super Cup quarter final clash against Triangle at Gibbo.Highlanders are also in the hunt for a double.
However, their Dutch mentor is playing it cool, pointing out that his contract only demands that he delivers a top four finish in his debut season in charge.
Bosso face How Mine in a Chibuku Super Cup quarter final at Barbourfields. “The contract dictates that the requirement is finishing among the top four this season but that should not stop us from aiming high,” said Akbay.
“The match against How Mine is very important, we want to win so that we remain in contention for the cup. Football is about winning trophies no matter what the contract might state.
“At a personal level I am always under pressure to win every game although it’s not an easy thing to do.”
Mapeza says at FC Platinum, they are taking each day as it comes.
“In football you never know (what happens at the end), we are taking both competitions very seriously. But it’s one game at a time and for now our attention shifts to the Chibuku Cup,” he said.
Highlanders will go into today’s fixture with a psychological advantage having dismissed the miners with an identical 2-0 score lines in their league meetings. But Akbay appreciates Kelvin Kaindu’s team are no pushovers.
“We might have beaten them in the league but they are not an easy team to play. “They are a very good side and it’s a message we have been telling the players from the day the draw was conducted,” he said.
The Chibuku Super Cup comes with a ticket into the Caf Confederation Cup but Bosso will not take part in the continental showpiece unless they secure sponsorship, club chief executive Ndumiso Gumede revealed.“It is not a secret that those assignments cannot be sponsored from gate takings, where we get most of our revenue,” said Gumede.
“To be honest, it will be very difficult for us to return to continental football unless we get a sponsor who says they will take care of our airfares.”