Amakhosi upbeat ahead of the Phakisa Tournament
Amakhosi upbeat ahead of the Phakisa Tournament

Posted in News on Jul 04, 2008.

Kaizer Chiefs coach, Muhsin Ertugral has described the camp held at High Performance Center in Pretoria this week as a ‘resounding success’. Following the victory over the weekend in the Premier’s International Cup in Mpumalanga last weekend the Glamour Boys descended to the HPC to continue with their grueling preseason programme.



The Phakisa Cup is an initiative by the Free State Department of Sport, Arts and Culture in partnership with Phakisa Major Sport Events and the Development Cooperation and Fezile District Municipalities.



“The camp has been very successful, I am pleased. Obviously guys like Valery Nahayo, Jose Torealba, and Tinashe Nengomasha are still not around and we hope to have everyone next week to continue with our programme. The boys are looking good and I must say this season unlike last season I am going to have a ‘good headache’ as a coach. We have a very talented squad of young players. The victory in Mpumalanga was very good for the team spirit,” he says.



Chiefs today travel to Sasolburg to participate in the Phakisa Tournament and they will lock horns with the unpredictable Free State Stars in their first game at 09h10. The second semi final will kickoff at 11h10 and will see Kaizer Chiefs archrivals, Orlando Pirates taking on Bloemfontein Celtic before the final at 3pm in the afternoon.



Muhsin tells Kaizerchiefs.com that they are not worried at all about the opposition, “We have to focus on our plans we cannot be worried about what other teams are doing. I am sure the players are going to give a good showing tomorrow against Free State Stars. Everyone here has been working very hard and the spirit in the camp is high.”



Muhsin will also be pleased by the confidence shown by Tshepho Bulu who sustained a bad injury last season. “Tshepho was unfortunate to get injured last season and I am happy to see him back. It was nice to see him on the score sheet last week. I must say though I have been impressed with the work my strikers have been putting in at training, Kaizer (Motaung jr), Mabudi (Khenyeza), and the exciting Siphelele Mthembu. They are all looking good and Jose (Torealba) coming next week will add the much needed fire power for us up front in the incoming season” says the coach adding that both Jose Torealba and Velary Nahayo will miss this weekend’s action.



Meanwhile Pimville born striker, Tshepho Bulu is confident that the Amakhosi will continue where they left off last week in Mpumalanga. These will be good news for Amakhosi faithful as Tshepho was forced to miss almost the whole season after sustaining an injury during preseason.



“I am excited to be playing again and I have put what happened to me last season behind. I am now glad the coach has given me another opportunity in the team to showcase my talent. It was nice to get one of the goals in Mpumalanga last week having missed a chance earlier in the game. I never dropped my head and when I finally scored, I felt relieved. I do know though that there is a lot of work ahead starting this weekend. The spirit among the guys here is high and I am quite confident that we will continue with the performance we dished out in Mpumalanga,” he adds.

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