New Sekhukhune United coach Cedric Kaze expects it will be an emotional return for him to Soccer City on Wednesday when he takes on his old club Kaizer Chiefs in the Betway Premiership.
Kaze has made a positive start to his new job, winning his first game against Durban City (even if he was not on the bench because of work permit issues) and then seeing his side pull off a sensational 4-3 win over AmaZulu in the MTN8.
“It's an emotional one coming on Wednesday, but we have to first recover well because I feel like Sunday’s game took a toll on the physicality of the players, but I'm pretty sure that on Wednesday we will be ready for the challenge,” he said.
Kaze was co-coach with Khaled Ben Youssouf at Chiefs last season, taking over from the volatile Nasreddine Nabi, and steading the ship.
While both did look out of their depth at times, and were not kept on for this season, they made enough of a positive impression to be hired elsewhere with Ben Youssouf going to Durban City and Kaze to Sekhukhune United.
They also saw Chiefs to third place, which was the best finish in the league in six seasons.
Kaze showed some clever tactical turns in Sunday’s victory at Chatsworth Stadium, especially with his inverted wide players.
“Because every club knows everything about the other, everyone comes to games with plans, having watched you a lot of times.
“Therefore, we need you to be able to be flexible to surprise other teams, and we need a team that can do different things at different times during the game,” he added.
Kaze was full of praise for his team’s performance in the seven-goal thriller on Sunday.
“I have to commend my players. They had such a big attitude, such a big commitment in everything that they did, because even after conceding an early goal, we kept our minds very clear, we kept our intentions as well clear.
“It showed that I have players that are ready to fight, and against AmaZulu they showed what they are capable of, and I'm very happy for them, for the club, for the fans.”