Coach Ernst Middendorp attended a Nedbank Cup press conference at the PSL headquarters on Wednesday afternoon. It was held to preview Sunday’s Nedbank Cup Last 32 encounter against Tornado FC.

“I’m happy to have our first full week of training in 2019,” Middendorp commented with a smile on his face, highlighting that Kaizer Chiefs have played five matches between 5 and 19 January. “This will give us time to recover and prepare for Sunday’s game.”

Tornado play in the ABC Motsepe League. “It is our obligation to take this game seriously,” the Amakhosi coach pointed out. “We will bring to the field the best team possible, while we will also be looking at the upcoming matches.”

Chiefs have a few players out injured and Mario Booyen has joined that list. “Mario won’t take part in this game due to receiving some treatment,” Middendorp confirmed.

The coach furthermore commented on two players, Bhongolethu Jayiya and Gustavo Páez, who haven’t gotten much game time recently.

“Jayiya and Páez are getting closer to get game time,” the coach remarked. “They are working hard after losing their place in the team. We are very happy about the way they are training and, with the amount of injuries we have, they should soon get a run.”

Middendorp preferred not to say too much about the goalkeepers, Virgil Vries and Itumeleng Khune, who is injured for the rest of the season.

“Vries is his own man,” the coach said. “He’s not competing to be Khune. The two come from different backgrounds and have different experiences. We will work with the keepers we have and have full confidence in them.”

The Nedbank Cup Last 32 fixture between Chiefs and Tornado takes place at Mdantsane’sSisa Dukashe Stadium in the Eastern Cape. Kick-off is at 15:00.