Chiefs out to avoid looking like April fools
"We've got some big games coming up against people around and beneath us in the league," said Amakhosi head coach Gavin Hunt.
Gavin Hunt is said to have received a large payout from Chiefs. Picture: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix.
With two wins, two draws and one defeat in their last five games, in theory Kaizer Chiefs are doing better than they have been given credit for.
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Yet if these statistics don’t look too bad on paper, the position the team is in, in both the the Caf Champions League and the DStv
Premiership, is bothersome.
Amakhosi are still in with a chance in the Champions League’s Group C, but need to win one and at least draw the other in the two games they have left. Gavin Hunt’s side have Wydad Casablanca at home on Saturday and finish their group stage campaign with an away fixture at Horoya AC.
On the home front, Amakhosi can at best fight to finish as high as possible, and specifically to avoid ending up outside the top eight, which would exclude them from the first cup competition next season.
“It’s got to be, that’s got to be a given. We’ve got to get there,” said Hunt (right) when asked about the top eight finish being the only realistic target for his team after a difficult season.
“It’s going to be a big ask but once we get this (Champions League) program out of the way, we can obviously try and focus on that,” said Hunt.
He is aware that how their season ends may depend on how they fare in the seven games they have in April. Chiefs do at least come into this run of matches with the added boost of finally having beaten Orlando Pirates in a Soweto derby.
“We’ve got some big games coming up against people around and beneath us in the league, and we’ve got a bit of a run going now – a couple of games unbeaten, which is the most important thing. But we need to turn the draws into victories,” added Hunt.
“Obviously we’ve got a huge task against Wydad Casablanca, which is next here, so we’ll have to change focus again, and then it will be a league game and another trip to Guinea.
“So, it’s a big ask but listen, if we get Khama Billiat and Leonardo Castro back, and we also get others like Ramahlwe Mphahlele and Kearyn Baccus, we’ll have a few more options. ”
Chiefs’ fixtures in April
April 3, v Wydad – home
April 6, v Stellenbosch – home
April 10, v Horoya – away
April 13, v Baroka – away
April 21, v Cape Town City – home
April 25, v Mamelodi Sundowns – away
April 28, v Chippa United – home
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