After making good progress with a brand new squad in a short space of time, coach Stuart Baxter says Kaizer Chiefs are “surprisingly ready” for today’s big MTN8 quarterfinal clash against Mamelodi Sundowns.

“The players have worked really hard and really well all week. We are a work in progress, but I think they’ve made amazing progress already in just 10-14 days. We’ve come quite a long way. I am happy with where we are. We have a lot of work to do, but I think we’re surprisingly ready for what will be a very tough game,” Baxter said after the team’s final practice session ahead of this afternoon’s knockout clash at Atteridgeville’s Lucas ‘Masterpieces’ Moripe Stadium.

While naturally victory is the objective today, Baxter cautions that the outcome either way needs to be seen in the context of the bigger picture.

“It’s a bit short sighted to say we’re on track if we win. We need to be lifting our gaze a little bit further than that. Every journey has a first step and this game is the first real step. We’ve played in the Carling Cup and that was preparation. It was okay. But just winning that game on penalties doesn’t mean everything is hunky dory. This one is the same. If we win this one, it will be very nice. We’re professionals, so we need to win. But it is the first step. We should be looking at the pathway and not the destination. We have both eyes fixed on what we need to do now. It’s about performance, performance, performance, to create a culture and in future the silverware will come,” says Baxter.

He knows all about Sundowns qualities of course, but it’s concentration and exploiting their weaknesses today which will be crucial.

“They are a team that wants to play football, they want to play a possession-based game. They mix it up by popping a few over the top. We have to be on our mettle in terms of our organisational skills. We’ve got to hurt them when we get the ball. We’ve got to exploit the weaknesses that all teams have when they present themselves. If we do that and if we believe in ourselves, this is going to be a good game,” says Baxter.

After making nine new signings and completely revitalizing the Amakhosi squad, Baxter says the job of integrating the new signings with Chiefs’ established and up and coming young players is a positive work in progress.

Chiefs’ injury list is well documented, but Baxter says some of the club’s new signings are available today and he will be doing his utmost get the balance right of “who is in form, who is the coming man and who is the new lad that’s settled quickest”.