Polokwane not in awe of Chiefs

Johannesburg - Polokwane City players did not watch the recent Soweto derby, admits skipper Mayala Nkueni, and will rely on their technical team to tell them what to expect against Kaizer Chiefs in their Nedbank Cup last 16 clash in Durban on Saturday.

The National First Division (NFD) side were tied up in a league clash at the time and had not since had the opportunity to analyse their much-fancied foes in the stalemate against Orlando Pirates.

“The day of the derby we were also playing a league game,” Nkueni said on Thursday.

"I believe the technical team will do their homework and they are giving us the plan about how we are going to play.

“I think they know Kaizer Chiefs well and we just have to believe them.”

Nkueni said his side were more focussed on their league campaign than the cup competition.

The Polokwane outfit are lying 11th in the NFD and could still make the promotion playoffs if they perform well in the games they hold in hand.

“It will be a big win, but our main focus is not the Nedbank Cup, it is the league," the skipper said.

“We want to fight for promotion. We are professionals and we play to win every game in our league.”

Nkueni did not believe AmaKhosi were unbeatable and he was confident of their chances.

“You can call it an upset, but I won't call it that. For me and Polokwane City it's just a game of football. It will be 11 against 11.

"Kaizer Chiefs is a big team, but we are also a team which is coming up.”

He admitted, however, that Polokwane would come into the clash as underdogs.

“We are prepared for the challenge knowing that everybody expects Chiefs to win.

“They are under pressure and we have nothing to lose. We are going to come and play our normal football and I think it will be an exciting game.”

The NFD side, according to Nkueni, had a good mixture of youth and senior players, and the youngsters were hoping to prove their ability in the knockout competition.

“We have experienced players like myself, but we also have young players who have a lot of talent.

"They want to progress in their careers and to do well so they can go to bigger teams or overseas.”