Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter held a meeting with his players at Naturena yesterday following the Heritage Day holiday, making the media wait for about 45 minutes before the club’s media open day finally got underway.
The coach revealed that he had a stern talk with his players in the meeting ahead of tomorrow’s Premiership clash with Maritzburg United at FNB Stadium, warning them that their Premiership rivals will pounce if Amakhosi do not keep their feet on the ground after their MTN8 triumph last weekend. Chiefs are on top of the table on 18 points.
“We come off a very good win against Pirates. I have just had a meeting with the players, where I said I want Kaizer Chiefs to be the ones that benefit from our win and not Sundowns, Wits or Maritzburg United.
“We must keep our feet on the ground. We had a chat with the players about mental strength and the ability to respond. That’s not just about responding to defeat, but to do things as well, without getting carried away. We are a challenging team to play against and as long as we continue to do the right thing we will be a tough team to play against.”
Baxter is wary of a Maritzburg side coached by a former Bafana Bafana colleague in Steve Komphela, whom he has described as “creative”. Maritzburg have held Mamelodi Sundowns and Free State Stars to draws away from home thus far and are capable of becoming the first team to get a point, or three, from Amakhosi.
“It’s going to be a difficult game for many reasons. One, because Steve is a creative coach. Even though he changes his players often, he always gives them a game plan that suits them. Two, because he has a good personality, so he gets the best out of his players.”
Baxter is likely to keep Tefu Mashamaite as captain in Itumeleng Khune’s absence. Mashamaite was named in Shakes Mashaba’s squad that will face Congo-Brazzaville twice early next month and will be on a high going into tomorrow’s game.
“Tefu did very well. He is an intelligent defender. He has a strong character and there is every possibility that he will be our captain again,” Baxter concluded
PSL fixtures
Today: Wits v AmaZulu, Bidvest Stadium (8pm)
Tomorrow (3pm unless stated): FS Stars v Swallows, Goble Park; Black Aces v Ajax, Mbombela Stadium; Chippa v Pirates, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium; Chiefs v Maritzburg, FNB Stadium (8.15pm); SuperSport v Celtic, Lucas Moripe Stadium (8.15pm)
Sunday (3pm): Platinum Stars v AmaTuks, Royal Bafokeng Stadium; Polokwane City v Sundowns, Peter Mokaba Stadium - The Star