He was on the bench when the Amakhosi defeated the Buccaneers in the 2005/2006 Absa Cup final and he was between the posts when Chiefs defeated their township rivals in last season’s Telkom Knockout Cup final.

With the rich history between himself and Pirates, Khune is determined to ensure that Chiefs are able to emerge victorious when the teams collide on Saturday evening, as he detailed in an interview with kaizerchiefs.com.

KC.COM: Itumeleng, it has been an indifferent week for you, given the result of Bafana Bafana’s game against Niger?

Itumeleng Khune: I feel that we as a team are all set for the final and the result from this past weekend is not going to play a role in the outcome of the final. Now it is all about my club. As a professional player you learn to adjust to different situations.

I have switched off from the national team and I am switched on for the Pirates clash.

You have played in a number of Derby games in your career against Pirates. Are you nervous going into these kinds of high profile games?

Being nervous is part of the territory for such games. Once out there on the pitch, in front of the crowd and with the focus on you, it is important to have a good first touch and thereafter just simply enjoy the game and the occasion.

When you head into a cup final, where do you look for motivation and inspiration?

Football is funny. It does not matter who you play against, you want to win. The desire to win is motivation. Also, we are all preparing to do well in this game. The supporters have been talking about it for a while and the word on the street and messages are a major source of motivation.

Their backing means that we have to produce a good performance to maintain the trust they have in the team to win matches. The fans are a source of inspiration for me.

Chiefs have featured in four derby matches already this season and have won all of them. Can you keep up that record against Pirates?

Obviously we do not want to lose. As much as we have the motivation to do well because we are playing in a cup final that is a derby, we want to show what we are capable of. As players we must show character in order to win the game.

It is a bonus that we managed to win those other matches and we would like to keep that up.

You will in all likelihood be playing in your fifth cup final in your sixth season as a Chiefs player. Do you switch off from the outside world in the days leading up to a final?

I do a lot of stuff to motivate myself. I don’t break away. I keep my phone on because I read all the messages people send me.

The goodwill of the fans pushes me on. I read a lot of stuff relating to the game because I want to see what people and the media are saying. I also watch some of the past finals that I have featured in and I like to watch matches of the opposition, so that by the time I get onto the field I know what I need to do to ensure we win the game. Through all of this it is important to keep your focus on the big picture which is to win the Cup final.

Lastly Itumeleng if there is one thing that spurs you one before a Cup final to do your best what is it?

It is not a big thing, when I see my name a few hours before kick- off on the team sheet it makes me emotional, simply knowing that I carry the hopes of a team like Chiefs for the coach, my teammates and the fans.

I know this weekend’s final will not be easy Pirates will make it difficult for us; we do want to prove that although we playing against a good team us reaching the final was no fluke.