Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane has revealed what he advised his players ahead of the Soweto Derby on Saturday.
The former Amakhosi player has featured as a player in the derby but will be on the sidelines for the first time himself as coach.
Chiefs enter the game on the back of three games without a win, while Pirates are on a high and unbeaten in four, including back-to-back wins against Golden Arrows and Mamelodi Sundowns.
There is a lot of pressure on both sets of coaches and players as fans expect the bragging rights and Zwane revealed he told his players to stay detached from the noise around Mzansi’s biggest game.
“When these two giants meet, it’s a totally different ball game altogether,” he said during the pre-match press conference.
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“I’ll always obviously advise our boys to just focus on the game. It’s one of the biggest games obviously, but you need to relax, don’t listen to what is happening out there.
“Yes, people will always have something to say, that’s the nature of football in our country. There are those who say a lot of positive things, but also those who show a little bit of doubts in you.
“But it’s how you rise to the occasion on the day of the game. I know that most of them are, they look ok, even at training, because I had to play that part, to make them feel relaxed and be calm and just focus on the job at hand, which is the big one that is coming up over the weekend.”
Chiefs will be the away team at the Calabash on Saturday, with the Premier Soccer League confirming the match will be sold out for the first time since before the Covid-19 pandemic.
