All focus may be on the African Nations Championship (Chan) event, taking place in Cape Town, Bloemfontein and Polokwane, but that doesn’t mean the Premier Soccer League (PSL) is on hold.
Postponed league games, especially those involving Orlando Pirates, have been scheduled for the next two weeks.
Because of their participation in the African Champions League, the Buccaneers still have to play a number of games to catch up to the rest of the PSL.
Pirates will be in action on Saturday when they host SuperSport United in Soweto, followed by AmaZulu and, on January 27, they take on Ajax Cape Town.
“I am not under pressure and we will not change our tactical approach,” Pirates coach Roger de Sa told kickoff.com. “We will continue to play to win.
“We must start off the year positively against SuperSport United. If we win our first two or three matches, we will have a good chance of catching up to the log-leaders, so this is the immediate objective.
“We all had a well-deserved break, but it is back to business. We must win as many matches as we can to give ourselves a chance of claiming some silverware. This is what is expected at Pirates and this will be the priority in 2014.”
Ajax, meanwhile, are also earnestly preparing for the second half of the PSL season.
Last week, they defeated Zimbabwe in a friendly and they are due to take on German side VfB Stuttgart at their training ground in Parow today.
Club news is that three youngsters – Michael Kwong (midfielder), Matthew Rowell (defender) and Stefan van Neel (goalkeeper) – have been sent on loan to Santos in the First Division
“Our youth academy players are very valuable to the club,” said Ajax director Ari Efstathiou.
“By allowing them to be exposed to First Division football, we are ensuring that they get regular game time and valuable experience.” - Cape Argus