Amakhosi go into Sunday’s Carling Black Label Knockout Cup clash against Stellenbosch at DHL stadium in Cape Town in confident mood considering their four-match winning run against these opponents.

Speaking to the assembled media on Thursday, however, Chiefs assistant coach, Cedric Kazi dismissed any notion of complacency within the camp.

On Amakhosi’s good record against Stellenbosch:
Unfortunately, the history of Kaizer Chiefs’ recent results against Stellenbosch have no relevance to this game, which means we need to be fully focused on what we have to do to go through to the next round.

We are wary of the fact that for a team like Stellenbosch, who are not doing so well in the league, playing a cup game can give them a fresh opportunity to revive their form, so we expect them to be highly motivated. Therefore, we have to be ready to match and exceed anything they bring on Sunday. We are up for the challenge because we want to go as far as possible in this competition, with the ultimate aim of winning it.

On the possibility of fielding new players:
Yes, probably. We will have played six games in the past 18 days, which has taken great effort from the players, so it will help to introduce some fresh legs to the team.

On the prospect of penalties after winning a shootout against Kabuscorp but missing spot-kicks in recent league games:
In the last two games, we were unfortunate not to score our penalties, especially since they (Gaston Sirino and Glody Lilepo) are our best penalty takers. People might think it’s down to a lack of preparation but we practice penalties every day. In football, penalties can be missed, and it is something we will continue to work on. If the situation arises again, we will approach it with confidence.

Selecting the right striker from a wide choice of options:
The difficult thing is not to find the right striker, as such, but to find the right team overall. It’s not so much about how good players are individually but about putting together the combination that can play best together. We try to create a good balance between attack and defence. I think now we are close to having found our best team. I would say we’re 95 percent there, and now it’s a matter of giving them more time together to improve the cohesion and understanding among them. I think the performances in the last two matches show that we are heading in the right direction.

Regarding our strikers, they have different profiles so we try to match them with the other players we choose for a certain match. Some are better at hold up play, others are strong running in behind. We look to take the right option for what we want to do.

On coping with pressure from the fanbase:
That comes with the job. I think we are privileged to be in a position to feel such pressure because it motivates us to work our hardest all the time. My colleagues and I didn’t sleep last night. We were up analysing and preparing for the game, looking at various combinations and possible new ideas that can surprise Stellenbosch.

We love our fans and we know how much they want us to win. We are doing everything in our power to make them happy.