Johannesburg - Any attempts to get Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela to give an update on the club’s January transfer plans yesterday were as brief as the questions themselves.
Partly because of the unavailability of key players in his first six months at the helm, Komphela said he would be at ease searching for additions only after he’d had given everyone a fair run.
It’s unlikely that the likes of Daniel Cardoso, Sula Matovu, Ovidy Karuru, Bongani Ndulula and David Zulu will get a look in at FNB Stadium when Chiefs host PSL log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns tomorrow. But Komphela suggested they were due some minutes on the pitch with matches certainly piling up.
He also confirmed that goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, defenders Erick Mathoho and Ivan Bukenya, and striker Bernard Parker are all fit to face the men from Chloorkop.
“It is nice to have everybody back, but it’s about the selection. Great players don’t make great results, only great teams,” Komphela said.
“We now have the luxury to use them because we suffered seriously when they were not available. I regret the fact that I have not explored all that is available in the sense that some have not played.
“You need more time so that everybody goes through the mill.”
Cardoso, signed from Free State Stars at the start of the season, has only recently returned to training and is yet to make his debut for Chiefs, but certainly not against the in-form Brazilians.
Pitso Mosimane’s side thrashed Amakhosi 3-1 in the Telkom Knockout final in Durban last month, leaving Komphela with nothing to show from two successive cup finals in just five months.
“We are never vengeful,” the Chiefs coach said. “But we acknowledge that we suffered a setback.
“It’s obviously a big match, likely to be a league decider because it is a direct confrontation with a team that is ahead of us by five points and we need to narrow the gap, which is possible.
“I think it’s unlikely that they (Sundowns) are going to change because this has been working for them well over 11 or 12 matches. Is there a coach who would want to change a formula that has been working for 12 matches?
“For us, the setback has given us an indication of how to bounce back. We obviously can’t keep on doing the same thing and hoping for a different result,” Komphela added.
Cape Times