Stellenbosch Coach Steve Barker is looking for his team to bounce back when they host Kaizer Chiefs in the DStv Premiership on Saturday.
Stellies suffered a disappointing 3-2 loss at home to Baroka on Wednesday, and Barker is looking for his team to respond in the best way possible.
While he knows Chiefs will be on a high after three successive wins, Barker is confident in his team’s ability, and feels they have the ammunition to beat Gavin Hunt’s team.
He also warns that the DStv Premiership is a tough league to win four games on the trot.
“We need to bounce back on Saturday and no better occasion than playing against Chiefs, they are a team in good form, but it’s a great opportunity for us to re-show our intent and our competitiveness in this league,” Barker said in the build up to the game.
“We need to forget about what happened (against Baroka), it’s a short turn around until Saturday and we need to be positive in our approach, prepare well for Saturday and be ready to bounce back and show the resilience that we have shown in the past, we have that capability after disappointment to bounce back.”
“Obviously they’re coming off three wins, so I am sure they’re in a better space than they were a week back, but you know, it is a difficult league to get four wins in a row, and conversely we’re not a team that easily goes four games without a win.”
“We’ve got to believe, we’ve got a big chance in the game, we have the capability of beating a team like Chiefs, but we do have to know that they do have their strengths, they do have players that can win football games for them, which they’ve shown in the last three.
“So it’s important that we’re aware of that, that we negate that, but conversely we have to show our qualities with the ball, and we’ve got to ask them questions, we’ve got to put them on the back foot, and we’ve got to create chances ourselves.”
