De Sa not worried about stats
Ajax coach Roger de Sa has reached five cup finals in the last three years, losing all of them.
|||Statistics don’t bother Ajax Cape Town coach Roger de Sa too much. If it did, he’d be extremely apprehensive ahead of tomorrow afternoon’s MTN8 final against Kaizer Chiefs at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth).
De Sa and cup finals don’t make for good reading. In the last three seasons, during his spells with Orlando Pirates and Ajax, he made it to the climax of a competition on five occasions – African Champions League, MTN8 (twice) and the Telkom Knockout (all with Pirates) – and in May this year, he steered the Urban Warriors to the final of the Nedbank Cup. All of them ended in defeat.
Now he has another opportunity to try and change this bizarre misfortune in finals. But the unruffled De Sa is not too concerned about the past, he’s focused on the present – and how he can assist and ensure his young squad achieves the success they so desire. He is particularly banking on the fact they are a lot more experienced.
“No doubt, the youngsters are more seasoned and mature now,” De Sa said. “They will definitely be more prepared for situations… in terms of maturity, they should be better and we’ll see tomorrow if they have taken in the lessons.
“I’m not too worried about past results. My philosophy is to always go out and try to win every game, that’s what I impress on the teams I coach. So my approach is never different. If we lose, then that’s it – we’ll try again.
“We have had a tough road to this cup final, beating Pirates away from home and then eliminating Wits over the home and away fixtures. We’ve always struggled against Wits, especially on the road, so the semi-final win was a good boost for the confidence of the team.”
De Sa’s counterpart at Chiefs, Steve Komphela, has his own problems. While he’s had a great start since taking over from Stuart Baxter, the margin between acceptance and rejection at Amakhosi is a thin line indeed.
Baxter’s success at Chiefs means that his replacement will always be under the microscope. But it’s so far, so good for Komphela, although he knows what the weight of expectation at the Soweto club entails.
“At this club, as a coach, you know that, when you get to a cup final, you have to win. It’s as simple as that,” Komphela said. “It’s a club with a great history of success and we certainly want to continue that trend tomorrow.
“We are confident without being arrogant, because we know that Ajax are a good team. They are currently on top of the PSL and we know we will have to respect them.
“In Roger, they have a smart coach, who knows what he is doing.”
Komphela’s contribution to Chiefs since his arrival this season was quickly praised by captain Siphiwe Tshabalala.
“Steve’s a good coach,” the skipper said. “He’s someone all players can relate to, he’s approachable, but a disciplinarian as well. We want to win this cup and win it for him. The mindset is strong and we have a strong character.”
Tshabalala is also confident that Chiefs’ “12th man” – the masses on the terraces – would be crucial in taking the team to victory.
“We are looking forward to it,” he said. “The players are ready. We are one win away from holding the cup in our hands. It’s a great venue in Port Elizabeth.
“We are looking forward to playing in a packed stadium, with most of the crowd getting behind us. That’s always a boost for the team... our supporters are our 12th man.” - Cape Times