CAPE TOWN - Cape Town City boss John Comitis has sent a stern message to the Citizens squad ahead of tomorrow's crucial DStv Premiership home clash against SuperSport United.
City have gone eight matches without a victory in the league and are currently seventh on the table. This is not acceptable for a team that has lofty ambitions, matched with the talent they have at their disposal.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Cape Town City boss happy to share Cape Town Stadium with Stormers
Comitis has, therefore stressed that the turnaround must begin tomorrow against SuperSport.
"The players need to step up. They need to be accountable because this is certainly a top squad that we have put together. I am very confident that we will persevere. If you remember in the bubble last year we actually won the quarter, so I am confident we will change it around," Comitis told a media briefing this week.
"We have nine games left of the season. There is no tactics. We just need to win. We need to be tucked into the top eight. With the football we are playing it is mind boggling that we are not in the top four. But there are moments in the game, lapses of concentration, that we are not getting the results that we are deserving of at times," he added.
Comitis certainly needs a successful team on the pitch if his visions of transforming City into a major brand are to be realised. The club is currently in negotiations with the Cape Town Stadium management, which are particularly crucial now that the Western Province Rugby Union have also moved into the former 2010 Fifa World Cup venue.
He is confident, though, that a mutually beneficial relationship can be struck between the two sporting codes. "We are delighted in the way we have been received by the Cape Town Stadium. Obviously with their involvement now in rugby, and the kind of deals they have been able to put together with corporates coming into play. Other sponsors coming into play like DHL, who are actually saying we need football," Comitis told a press briefing at the club's offices this week.
"It's not about exclusivity. In fact, it's on the contrary, they want football to be part of the whole agreement in the way the stadium is being run."
"Being the present club that has consistently played there the last four years, the intention is to have us there for all 15 games and accommodate us as a priority with rugby," he said.
"If there is a weekend where there is rugby too, we will work out which days we play and which days they play. And who knows at some point we may have a double-header with rugby which could be a great bonanza for the fans.
"The good thing is that there are a lot of corporations that are committed to rugby over the years, and I am sure they have football loving employees that would love to use the suites on the days when we play."