“No one is going to relax this season, we are pushing each other very hard for the starting eleven.” Captain Itumeleng Khune said this at the PSL Press Conference ahead of the mouth-watering clash waiting to happen this Sunday at the ‘Calabash’, FNB Stadium. Kickoff is at 15:00.

The Captain expressed optimism as he and his teammates prepare to battle this Sunday. Speaking at the PSL Headquarters in front of a packed media room, the Captain said,

About the preparations?

“The preseason went well. We went into the preparations knowing last season we disappointed our fans by not winning any silverware. We played Chippa United in a friendly and beat them 4-2 . Even though we lost on penalty shootouts against Orlando Pirates, we dominated in the Carling Black Label Cup last weekend.”

The readiness of the Team?

“The players are ready. We want to win every trophy on offer. We are hungrier and excited at the road ahead. We are highly motivated and everyone is on his toes. The Football Manager (Bobby Motaung) is working around the clock to beef up the squad.”

The new players?

“We have bolstered our squad with Siphelele Mthembu, Levy Mokgothu and promoted three players from our Development, Hendrick Ekstein, Zitha Macheke and Chris Matombo. Yesterday we announced the signing of Ovidy Karuru who is looking great in training. He has shown glimpses of his brilliance at training. Karuru has already got an opportunity to strut his stuff during the Chippa United friendly. Phakamani Mngadi has arrived, even though he hasn’t trained with the team, we know him as a fine player who will make a difference to the Team.”

About losing trophies last season, what will be different this time?

“Lack of consistency cost us the trophies last season. We are now better off and we will improve this season. Some of the players suffered injuries at crucial times. At some point we led the league by 13 points. We were written off before the Reclaiming the Glory, double winning season and we redeemed ourselves the following season, we will do the same this time. We will do our best and have learned from our mistakes and we will not repeat that. We are missing Shabba and Parker due to injuries but the other players are raising their hands to take their chances.”

About Aces as the opponents?

Aces have lost a few players but also have recruited new blood. They have good players who will be looking at upsetting us at FNb Stadium, and mind you that's our home, we can’t allow them to do that. They also have a Barker (Clive Barker) factor. Clive knows most of us as he has been around for many years in SA football. But we are ready to proceed to the next round.”

Khune urged the supporters to come in their big numbers to support their beloved team. “This is the start of the new season Amakhosi. Let us start with a bang, and make sure we get back to the winning ways. We are prepared to bring back the smiles to our faithful supporters.” said Khune.

Tickets are now on sale at Computicket and Shoprite Checkers countrywide. They are R40 for adults and R10 for children under the age of 12. Kickoff for the clash reminiscent of the olden days clashes between Amakhosi and AmaZayoni is at 15:00. The gates open at 12:00.

The Amakhosi will come in their numbers to paint FNB Stadium gold and black to mark start of the 2014/15 PSL season.