JOHANNESBURG - Chiefs are undefeated this season and  top  the log standings with 16 points from six games with five wins and one draw, but that is not a concern for Larsen as his side prepare to face  Stuart Baxter’s men.

“Gone are the days when teams used to be scared of Chiefs and Pirates. Now we look  forward to meeting them,” Larsen said.

“Chiefs have set the bar this season. We know it will be difficult but we are not scared of them. We know if we are on top of our game, we can surprise them.” 

Larsen’s men have a 100% home record this season having won all the three matches played there, but the   problem they face is away.

Away, they have had a dismal run having failed to collect a point after losing all three on the road – against Black Leopards, Bidvest Wits and Chippa United – and with a tough encounter against the might of Chiefs on the menu this weekend, Larsen said   it was just a matter of time before they start collecting results.

“There are  games we played away where we dominated the matches, but we could not roll  the ball into the net and we ended up losing them,” he said.

“Against Pirates (a 1-0 win at home) we were hoping to build from our previous performance against Chippa where we lost 2-1. We played well against Chippa even though we lost.

“We played well against Pirates in the second half and we won. Now the players are starting to gel, the new personnel starting to adapt to our play and the confidence and motivation is very high at the moment, so we are looking forward to meet Chiefs.” 

With Chiefs on form at the moment, the 41-year-old coach is convinced   his side can give Amakhosi their first defeat this weekend even though their dismal away record would not suggest that.

“When Pirates were beating teams left and right last season, we beat them and I think we can also do it this time around,” Larsen said.

“Last season we played Pirates and SuperSport in succession and we won both matches and this time is a similar situation.”

Larsen also confirmed that midfielder Kurt Lentjies has returned to training after injuring an ankle at the beginning of the season and should be fit to play against Chiefs.