Stellenbosch Head Coach Steve Barker is hoping his team can bounce back in their DStv Premiership match against Orlando Pirates today.
Barker was disappointed to lose 1-0 to Chippa United in their last game, and says they would like to get over that disappointment sooner rather later.
Stellenbosch are 12th on 25 points, and the recent good runs by Maritzburg United, Chippa and Tshakhuma, mean Barker’s team are now part of the battle to avoid 15th spot. Maritzburg and Chippa also both sit on 25 points, with Tshakhuma on 24.
But they face a tough challenge against a Pirates side, who are still pushing for a higher finish.
“Ja, obviously, we’re very disappointed in the result, it was a game that we went into knowing that at least we should not lose the game,” Barker said.
“And so ja, we were very disappointed and gutted after that result. But ja, it is football and you have a game that comes up soon after so it’s important that we had to get over that disappointment sooner rather than later, and refocus our energies on what lies ahead.
“And that’s obviously a big game against Pirates. You know, we have shown that we are competitive team against any team in this league so we, we need to once again show the resilience and bounce back from that disappointment and disappointments of late.
“We have to continue to show the confidence and belief in what we are able to achieve. And so ja, a very competent opponent tomorrow with lots of quality all around the field, we’re all aware of that. But it’s also important that we don’t forget the qualities that we have, and continue to keep believing and working hard to achieve what we need to now achieve.
“Ja, look, I think any for fixtures, it doesn’t matter where you play in this league, are difficult You know, we’ve unfortunately, some of the teams below us, we’ve lost against of late. So whether you’re playing teams in and around you or teams at the top of the league, I don’t think it makes it any easier any harder.
“So we understand that there’s four big fixtures left, we also have to ensure that we take it a game at a time, knowing that we unfortunately got ourselves in a position that we had not envisaged and didn’t want, we obviously are closer to the bottom of the log than top eight position.
“Obviously, the focus now, an immediate short term strategy and focus is to get away from the bottom of the log as quickly and as soon as possible, and, we’ve set ourselves to start that climb and that process starting tomorrow.”
