Jimmy Tau recently passed the one year anniversary point marking his much publicised move from Orlando Pirates to Kaizer Chiefs, which put him amongst a select group of players who have transferred directly between The Amakhosi and their fiercest rivals Pirates.

One year on and Jimmy has fitted into his new surroundings without much consternation, and has played an integral part in Chiefs' recent success. As The Amakhosi prepare for two major test of character against Sundowns this Saturday and SuperSport a week later in the Final of the SAA Supa8 tournament, Jimmy also prepares himself for examinations of a different kind. Kaizerchiefs.com caught up with the Chiefs defender and spoke to him about these busy times in his life.

KC.COM: Jimmy, over the next fortnight Chiefs will be going through a number of stern tests, as the team plays Sundowns and thereafter SuperSport United in the SAA Supa8 Final. On a personal level are you ready for these two games, the results of which can go a long way towards Chiefs winning the league this season?


JT: I think that we are a team at the moment that is ready for any challenge or any opponent, it is better for us to be playing high calibre games against tough opposition as it keeps us awake. As a player you thrive on these kinds of situations, playing the defending league champions a week before a major Cup Final is the best thing that could happen to us.

What does happen on certain occasions is that one might tend to take it easy because of the fact that there is a cup final on the horizon, right now we cannot do that the game against Sundowns is as important if not probably more important at this stage.

KC.COM: Coupled with all of this you are also busy studying and will be writing your examinations in the field of study of Human Resource Management, how is that progressing? Are you able to get in some much-needed study time, having to put in time for practice, games as well as being on the road away from home?


JT: Our schedule at the moment is hectic it does not get any easier from here onwards; I have managed to get in a lot of study time although it has been a challenge. The thing is that I am determined to succeed at both obtaining my university qualification and going some where with my football.

Right now I seem to be managing just fine, I will be writing examinations later this month and then I will be free of those duties for the rest of the year. I also feel that it has bee a good thing that I opted to study while playing football, as it has kept my mind busy and has saved me from being bored and sitting around idle.

KC.COM: What about Saturday’s game against Sundowns, is there any particular aspect of their game or as a team that you feel needs special attention?


JT: I would not really say that there is any thing that we need to look in detail about them, they are a team who possess a lot of quality in depth and they are in the fortunate position of being able to replace any player with an equally able or if not better replacement.

Having played them as recently as August when we lost in the Telkom Charity Cup, has helped us gauge what we are up against what is important for us is not to be over awed by them and really give them a fight for the full ninety minutes.

KC.COM: What then do you see as key to victory over Sundowns?


JT: Goals win games it’s as simple as that so we need to bury our chances early on and not give them any breathing space, we have learnt from the pass that if you sit back against them it is to your detriment. We have to play the same way we did against Swallows and Golden Arrows and know in the back of our minds that Sundowns can be beaten.

KC.COM: Finally Jimmy your former teammates at Orlando Pirates will be involved in an important CAF African Champions League semi final second leg game against SC Faxien in Tunisia. Can they count on your backing for Saturday’s game?


JT: The thing is that on Saturday Pirates are not representing Orlando or just their supporters, they are representing South African Football and more broadly South Africa as a nation. Being a proud South African and one who always gets behind my countrymen Pirates definitely have my support on Saturday, actually we should all be backing them.

When we play them on December 9th can you imagine how it would feel to defeat the African Champions, in all honesty I think that they have done well to get to this stage of the competition and I do hope they make it to the final and beyond.