Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Khalil Ben Youssef has outlined plans to cope with the team’s congested fixture programme, revealing that squad rotation will be a norm as they’ll play 11 games in 40 days, starting against Marumo Gallants in the Betway Premiership at Dr Molemela Stadium tomorrow (7.30pm).
Chiefs are high in confidence after recording back-to-back wins in their two opening fixtures of the new year against Golden Arrows in the domestic championship and against Zesco United in the CAF Confederation Cup.
“I think I have to thank the board for allowing us to have a recovery session here [in Ndola, Zambia],” Ben Youssef said on Sunday after Chiefs beat Zesco. “Tomorrow morning we will have a recovery session before we fly back to Johannesburg. We’ll have a training session on Tuesday, and then we’ll travel to Bloemfontein.
“We know the coming weeks are going to be busy for us...we will be playing every two or three days. We will play 11 games in 40 days, so we will need all the squad...it’s better because we have a big squad, so we can make rotations and allow players to rest.”
Ben Youssef, who steers the Amakhosi ship alongside Cedric Kaze, also told of how they had to convince their troops to prioritise winning matches over playing good football.
Now we only think about winning more than playing good football that’s enjoyable
— Khalil Ben Youssef
“We had a lot of meetings with the players, discussing the importance of winning. Now we only think about winning more than playing good football that’s enjoyable. I think in the first half of the season we played a lot of nice games, but we were unlucky to score, finishing with draws in most cases,” the Amakhosi co-coach said.
“Now the most important thing is winning games, and if it comes with good football, we will be happy, but if not, we will also be happy because the only thing that matters is full points.”
Pule Mmodi scored the solitary goal that sealed the deal for Chiefs against Zesco at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.
The result kept Amakhosi’s chances of qualifying for the knockout phase alive, as they are third in Group D with four points, three behind leaders Al Masry of Egypt after three rounds of fixtures. Chiefs’ next Group D fixture is against Zesco again at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday (3pm).
Sowetan
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