AmaZulu coach Arthur Zwane feels his side would have been in the top three had it not been for the recent slump where they suffered three successive defeats.
Usuthu are now seventh on the Betway Premiership log, four points behind third-place Sekhukhune United with five matches remaining before the end of the season.
While Zwane believes they still have a good chance of finishing third to qualify for the CAF Confederation Cup next season, he urged his side to win their remaining matches to achieve their objectives.
“The ball is in our hands. It's all up to us if we want to go and play in the Confederation Cup ... it is all up to us,” Zwane said.
“It is how we are going to execute ourselves in the next coming games. We need to win all the games and when I look at the squad we have assembled, the character we've shown this season is good.”
We are just looking forward to the next game. I'm not worried about the opposition. This team can show character.
— Arthur Zwane, AmaZulu coach
The former Kaizer Chiefs coach also spoke about how the team has grown in the last few months since he took over, along with previous co-coach Vusumuzi Vilakazi.
“When we started people saw us as a relegation team, but now we actually had five attempts to be in position three. You can imagine if we took advantage, and we are talking about six points, and that would have secured a top three spot for us,” he said.
“I always believe that certain things happen for a reason. We are learning every day and our players are growing in stature. We would have long secured this spot if you look at how we played in the previous games. The worst result we could have got is a draw.
“We are our own enemies. Not many teams beat AmaZulu because of the mistakes that we commit, which are very costly, but I think we tried to rectify that in our last game against Richards Bay. We are just looking forward to the next game. I'm not worried about the opposition. This team can show character.”
Usuthu's next game is against Stellenbosch on April 19 at Danie Craven Stadium, and Zwane said they cannot afford to drop more points.
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