‘Playing unknown opponents works better for Kaizer Chiefs,’ says Philani Zulu
"The preparation has been going well. We are trying as a team to look forward," said the Chiefs defender, ahead of their Champions League match against Primeiro De Agosto.
Philani Zulu of Kaizer Chiefs (Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images)
Kaizer Chiefs have struggled so much domestically that defender Philani Zulu now believes they play better when they meet a team that they don’t know what to expect from.
This is after Amakhosi managed to beat Cameroon’s PWD Bamenda 1-0 away from home in a Caf Champions League game, only to fail in the return leg which ended goalless.
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Zulu is hopeful that they will do well again as they turn their focus to continental football with Angola’s Primeiro De Agosto visiting them at FNB Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The former Maritzburg United player, who is now in his fourth year at Naturena, said he can’t point out exactly.why they’ve struggled so much this season as they give and do their best in every game they play.
“The preparation has been going well. We are trying as a team to look forward. We are fixing where we need to fix what’s gone wrong and also make sure that we excel even more in areas we have been doing well in,” said Zulu ahead of Chiefs’ match with Angolan side.
“When we go outside, where it tends to be more difficult because we hardly know the opponent, we do better. We go there with the attitude that anything can happen. But we also … prepare to play our own way because they also don’t know us that well,” he explained.
“I can’t really say at the moment as to what’s going wrong because as a team who likes to dominate, we try to do that. But we tend to lose concentration and make the small mistakes that end up costing us dearly.
“But we learn in each game and we try by all means to fix the mistakes so we can start collecting points and move away from our current position.”
Chiefs are currently outside of the top eight in the league, where this team is normally found. But Zulu’s teammate, Lebogang Manyama is positive that the team will turn the corner very soon.
“I don’t need to be told how the season has been, individually I know I haven’t done as well as I know I can do. But it is coming together. It’s important for me not to focus on my individual performance, it’s more of the team form that’s important and as long as I help, I think it will be better. And the more the team does well, the better I will do as an individual as well,” said Manyama.
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