Struggling Chippa United will be looking to turn a new leaf in the Betway Premiership after a rejuvenating two-week Fifa break.
They are rock bottom on the log with only six points from nine matches.
They get back to league action on Sunday, playing away to 11th-placed Marumo Gallants.
The fixture will take place at the Seisa Ramabodu Stadium in Bloemfontein (3.30pm).
Chippa head coach Luc Eymael said his players had held a constructive talk after their humiliating 4-1 loss to Richards Bay in the Carling Black Knockout Cup.
The cup fixture was the club’s last competitive game before the Fifa break.
It marked Eymael’s third loss since taking charge of the Gqeberha side.
The Belgian has managed six games, securing just one win.
The former Black Leopards and Young Africans mentor needs to start bringing in results before his trigger-happy boss, Siviwe Mpengesi, runs out of patience.
He is the fourth coach to be at the helm of the club after just nine matches into the new season.
“We need to do better, especially after the loss against Richards Bay, which was a very bad game,” Eymael said.
“We have been hard at training during the break, trying to correct our silly mistakes.
“We also worked on the players’ fitness as their current levels are not where I would like them to be.
“We worked on improving our combination as well as our finishing.
“A coach can’t score for his players. They shouldn’t need five attempts to score.
“We need to move away from those bad habits.
“Whenever there’s a chance, they have to score.
“However, I can see they are improving. We had a friendly match on Monday, which we won 5-1.”
Now that the players seem to have an understanding of the coach’s expectations, his major headache before their crucial league match against Gallants is injuries.
“We have been assessing Bongani Sam, who is sick with the flu, and we hope that he will recover before the Sunday game.
“But the biggest blow is Justice Figuareido’s injury.
“He was injured after scoring that goal against Angola while playing for his country, Eswatini, in the World Cup qualifiers last week.
“I think he could be out for three weeks, but then again I am not a doctor, I don’t have an X-ray.
“Figuareido has been scoring for them as well as for his country.
“But his injury will cost Chippa United because we are playing a crucial game on Sunday and we can’t use him.”
The Herald
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