Tuesday will see the last sixteen draw for the 2007 Telkom Cup take place in Johannesburg, the competition now in its second year with Telkom as its sponsor is expected to once again throw up a number of interesting clashes just as it did last year.

During the 2006 Telkom Cup The Amakhosi won their round of sixteen game against BidVest Wits but were rolled out of the competition by eventual winners Silver Stars recently renamed Platinum Stars in the next round which was the quarterfinal stage.

Chiefs coach Muhsin Ertugral, who was in charge of Ajax Cape Town during the 2006 Telkom Cup, fared much better and took his team all the way to the final where they were beaten by Stars. Under its previous guises as the Rothmans and Coca Cola Cup The Amakhosi had unmatched success in the event winning the trophy five times over nine years, between 1997 and ending in 2005. According to Chiefs defender Jimmy Tau Chiefs have set their sights on an extended run in the 2007 event, and have every intention of making it all the way to Decembers final.

Final goal

Jimmy Tau, who harbors ambitions at being successful at both club level and with the national team, believes that Chiefs have the desire to be successful in the Telkom Charity Cup and are willing to work to ensure that they full fill their ambition of lifting the trophy later this year.

“As a team we set down a few months ago and we outlined what are ambitions and projected goals for the season are, going far and hopefully eventually winning the Telkom Cup is most definitely amongst our objectives for this season,” explained Tau.

Jimmy though is looking to take the competition game by game and feels that by not putting unnecessary pressure on themselves Chiefs will be able to have an extended cup run.

"In the two cup competitions that we have won since I have been at Chiefs the 2005 ABSA Cup and the 2006 SAA Supa8, I feel the key to our success was the fact that we took it game by game and did not get overwhelmed by who we were facing. In the ABSA Cup Final it was Pirates and we managed to hold our nerve and eventually lifted the cup, in last years Supa8 Final we came up against SuperSport a team who traditionally give us a tough time but we did not let the occasion or the opposition get to us and win by the grace of GOD lifted another trophy,” said Tau.

The beauty of the Cup

Just as they did in the 2005 ABSA Cup and 2006 SAA Supa8 competitions when they over came tough opposition not just in the finals but the entire run in of the tournament, has ensured that Jimmy is not overly concerned with who Chiefs pull out of the hat in Tuesday’s draw. The will to succeed should be able to help Chiefs gain the necessary momentum for a successful Telkom Cup Campaign.

Tau further added; “we know what want to achieve out of the season and it is up to us to prepare properly for each game and knuckle down and do the business on the field”. With league form not counting for much in cup competitions the recipe for success according to Jimmy will be for Chiefs to approach each round of competition like it is the cup final itself.

"It has always been said that when it comes to knock out football one cannot rely too much on your league form, cup football is such that anything can happen and we have seen so called minnows enjoy success in knock out competitions over the years. We need to treat each game with same importance and no matter who we are playing we must be aware of the fact that there is no second chance here and we need to win to put our best foot forward first up,” he concluded.