Former Kaizer Chiefs captain Neil Tovey has sent a message to the current crop of players.
Tovey, 60, spent 10 seasons at Naturena and played in several derbies against the club’s bitter rivals.
As many others have pointed out in the build-up already, Tovey also insisted that form goes out of the window ahead
“The results prior to the match I wouldn’t say they don’t mean anything, that’s not the case. Going into the derby with form has got to help, but then we also know the form book gets left behind when it comes to the derby.
“The nerves come into play, there are a lot of players from both sides that have not played derbies before, it’s going to be quite different for them,” Tovey told Chiefs’ media department.
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“A Chiefs coach can be doing very very well, suddenly he loses a derby and there’s a lot of talk around him. And vice versa you can be on an indifferent run and suddenly you get a win in the derby and you get a really good reprieve and you’re loved.
“It’s got that mixed emotions. That’s the lovely thing about the derby. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in Johannesburg or anywhere in the country, everyone is intensely involved in it.”
Tovey also insisted that beating Pirates and securing bragging, no matter how the three points are secured, is the most important thing ahead of the FIFA World Cup break.
“Beating them, winning them. It’s got to be winning,” he added.
“I don’t care how you win the derby. Obviously having a good performance in the derby is great, but every derby win was special.
“There was no Derby that was less important than the other, but the nicest ones were the more important ones. I’m talking about Rothmans Cup semi-finals, league deciders, those type of things.
“It’s bragging rights for two months, it’s vitally important to get a win going into the World Cup break.”
Saturday’s Soweto Derby will be the first at full capacity after the last six derbies were played without fans due to the Covid-1 restrictions.
