Chiefs want Pirates' crown

Johannesburg - Kaizer Chiefs captain Jimmy Tau said that the league was the main focus of his team for the upcoming season.

Tau was speaking at the MTN 8 draw on Monday where his team was drawn to play Bidvest Wits.

"Our main goal for the coming season is to win the league, that's always our goal," said Tau whose team did not make the final of the Vodacom Challenge, and he watched as English side Tottenham Hotspur beat Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates 3-0 on the weekend.

"The league is our priority. At the same time we want to win cups, because winning silverware is part of the tradition at Chiefs and we want to continue the legacy of past generations."

"Playing Tottenham was a great experience for us, we've got a very young team and it gave us an idea of how prepared we are for the coming season," said Tau.

"The Vodacom challenge was a great experience for the team and we can only hope the preparation will help us for the new season," he said.

The venues for each of the eight matches is still to be announced, but regardless of that, Chiefs will have a distinct advantage over Wits.

The sides last met in cup competition of the Nedbank Cup in April when hosts Wits were thrashed 4-0 by the Amakhosi.

Tau believes since that last meeting the 'Clever Boys' have earned their place in the top eight competition and will be difficult opposition.

"We respect them, they're a quality team.

"The fact that they qualified for the top eight shows the pedigree that's in their team and it's not going to be an easy game at all.

"We as a team have our own ambitions of doing very well in this competition and we'll do everything in our power to do that," added Tau.

On the other side of Soweto, Pirates captain Lucky Lekgwathi, under new coach Julio Leal, says there is still some work to do before his team can be ready for the defence of their title.

"The guys are working hard at training and looking for new combinations," said Lekgwathi.

Pirates will play Cape side Santos who finished eighth last season.

"They're a difficult team to play, last time we played them it was a tight game we ended up beating them 2-1.

"We're just hoping we get a home game when the draw is made.

"We've got a new coach and we're looking forward to the new season," added Lekgwathi.