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Cape Town - Head coach Cavin Johnson wants to tap into AmaZulu's history and to get the team playing with the flair they were renowned for in the past.
Usuthu are historically one of South African football big-name clubs, but they have not hit any great heights since the turn of the century and have bounced back and forth between the top flight and the second tier in recent years.
The former Platinum Stars coach, who was announced last week as the Durban team's new head coach, says he does not plan to change AmaZulu's traditional style and hopes to tap into the spirit of a successful past.
"When I look at it back and I say to myself, is Cavin Johnson coming with something new to AmaZulu? No. AmaZulu are used to playing football," he told the club website.
"It's not a Cavin Johnson philosophy; it's an AmaZulu philosophy that was there many years ago. We need to revive it. We need to make sure that we play the type of football that was played way back, when AmaZulu were still strong.
"We're not promising the world, but rally behind the players that we have, and for sure we're going to try and put our best foot forward by playing the kind of football that will make the old AmaZulu fan come back to the stadium," he added.
With little time to prepare a newly-assembled side before Usuthu's opening league match against Free State Stars this coming Saturday, Johnson knows he has a tough task on his hands.
"I say, the brain never gets tired; its one thing that God made that never gets tired. We need to feed them that way, with the football we plan to play this year at AmaZulu," he explained.
"We've got to play around with that physical conditioning and mental conditioning, and see how they adapt.
"We've got to adjust some of the players into the PSL; it's a different ball game. It is a much tougher game, but at the same time it's a more enjoyable game playing in the PSL, but like always I like my teams to play football."
