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Malesela targets top-five finish

Cape Town - Chippa United have made headlines this season for their problems off the pitch, but coach Dan Malesela is hopeful to lead the club to a top-five finish.

Chilli Boys owner Chippa Mpangesi has a reputation for hiring and firing managers at will and is currently embroiled with a legal battle with former coach Roger Sikhakhane over unpaid compensation.

Despite their off-field troubles, the Port Elizabeth outfit occupy sixth position in the Premiership after their 1-1 stalemate with Ajax Cape Town on Tuesday, and Malesela is confident they can push on and achieve their highest finish in the club's history.

"There is a possibility to go up or stay where we are. It all depends on how we handle it, how we handle ourselves," the 50-year old told Sowetan Live.

"If we drop points at this stage, we run the risk of not achieving anything but with the way this team has been playing, I doubt if we'll really lose a lot of games. I doubt that will be the case."

The former Cape Town All Stars boss earned himself a reputation at his former club for an expansive brand of one-touch football and he admitted to setting the bar high for his teams because he hates losing.

"I like setting high standards and sometimes my wife says to me 'you are being too hard on yourself'. I feel I haven't done anything yet," he added.

"I have a little bit of satisfaction in what I've done so far but I feel I can also do better, especially looking at some of the games we've lost. I wasn't anticipating that, I'm not one who likes losing."

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