After going toe to toe with Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8, Bernard Parker was pleasantly surprised at how fast a new Kaizer Chiefs squad has been gelling, and he’s confident the signs are positive ahead of Amakhosi’s DStv Premiership campaign.

“I did not expect now that we’ve reshuffled and have quite a few new inclusions, that we would learn so fast and click so fast. It’s good that we are getting to gel this fast. With the Kaizer Chiefs that gave the champions a problem, I believe we can grow further and be tough to beat. There are a lot of signs that Amakhosi will be back soon in terms of the style of play and in terms of winning ways. It’s now up to us as players to keep our attitude and our game temperament levels up every time come match day,” Parker told www.kaizerchiefs.com.

While he felt Amakhosi put on a “good show” against Sundowns so early on in the season, the team’s focus is now purely on the DStv Premiership opener on Sunday against TS Galaxy at the Mbombela Stadium.

A revitalised Parker was happy to get on the scoresheet against Sundowns, in a more advanced attacking position than he has been utilized in recent times at Chiefs.

“I played higher up in this game, as a striker. In previous games I’ve played as a midfielder and couldn’t get into scoring positions, trying more to construct and consolidate build up play to get the team up to an attacking phase. This time I was playing higher as a striker. With the Bernard Parker instinct I have, I kept trying to find myself in good positions. When the ball came, I was in a good position to put it away. It was a good feeling. I would like to add more goals if I keep playing in a higher position. But wherever the coach will put me, every time you see Bernard Parker, he will give his 120% for the team,” said Parker.

After a “shaky start” in which Chiefs left too many gaps for Sundowns to exploit and they found themselves 2-0 down, Parker was encouraged by the team’s recovery to level the scores.

And there were glimpses of genuine quality – and a strong temperament – in Chiefs play which he is very excited about.

“The good thing is that after they got two goals, we kept our heads high. We kept soldiering on and motivating each other, knowing and believing we can come back. And we did play better afterwards. We started taking more risks in our build up in terms of going forward and it worked out for us. We kept them on the back foot and implemented what we worked on, that we wanted to come out on the diagonals. When we found (Njabulo) Blom out on the diagonal, he put a brilliant cross in, where I ran into the near post, anticipating it well and the cross came in with such pace that I just guided it into the corner,” says Parker of the build-up to his well-taken goal against the Brazilians.

And as Amakhosi prepare for another match with an empty stadium, in these difficult COVID times, Parker had a parting message for the Amakhosi faithful – “we love you and miss you in the stadiums”.