JOHANNESBURG - Jomo Sono has cautioned Bloemfontein Celtic against reading too much into Jomo Cosmos’ position in the Absa Premiership ahead of their Telkom Knockout tie at Sinaba Stadium tomorrow.
 
Cosmos are without a win in eight Premiership matches which sees them languishing at the bottom of the log, but Sono is confident they can beat Celtic and register their first win.
 
“It would be a mistake for Bloemfontein Celtic to judge a book by its cover,” he said.  “If they look at our position at the bottom of the log and say this is a bad team  they will be in for a surprise. We will go  out there and attack them from the first whistle.

“It is easier to prepare for a cup game than the league because it is a one-off match. I mean what is the point of defending?  You need to go all out.
“In the league you have a point before you even kick the ball. It is just a matter of you defending it. If you push hard enough you get all three.”
 
Cosmos will be without the injured striker Ofosu Appiah with a knee injury while Gladwin Shitolo is doubtful. The side will also register El-Hadj Samb who was part of the team who gained promotion before going for trials in Europe.

“Samb is a good player and I rate him highly,” Sono said. “He also understands the setup having been with the team before.”

Attack has been the biggest problem for Ezenkosi having found the back of the net only four times in the Premiership which Sono hopes will be improved by the “top striker from Europe” they will sign next week.
 
But he refuses to press the panic button and is adamant they will beat the drop to the National First Divison. 

“If your head is properly screwed on then the body will follow,” Sono said. “I don’t feel any pressure. I am very relaxed and that is why the players are also relaxed.

“I don’t lose my head because if I did that, then they would also do the same and things would really be bad. It is not that bad because we are picking up points with these draws. If we get enough of them and then we win, we will get to be on top of somebody.

“I think the players have adjusted well.

The only time when the players didn’t come on board was against Moroka Swallows.

“We have played against seven of the teams that finished in the top eight and we were not embarrassed, we held our own. It has been a baptism of fire.

If we started against the teams that finished outside the top eight maybe things might be different.”