KAIZER Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter is unsure whether the two-week break for his side will stymie the momentum they have established through the first month of the season or come as a much-needed break.
Chiefs won an eighth successive game of the new campaign as they stretched their leadership of the Absa Premiership after beating SuperSport United 2-0 on Saturday night.
They have won five in the league and three in the MTN8, where they play arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in the September 20 final at a venue yet to be confirmed.
But they now do not play again for a fortnight before hosting the University of Pretoria at Soccer City on September 13.
"There is an argument for and against," he explained. "The players do deserve a rest and we knew we would get that break. That's why we went for consistency in our team selection over the last month. It will do the squad good to get some rest and we'll give them a few days off now.
"But I hope we don't lose the momentum. That will be up to the players and it will be for us as the technical staff to challenge them when we get back to playing."
Baxter also dwelled on the question of a winning streak eventually becoming something of a burden and sometimes taking over the focus of a team. "I'll be thinking about that but I won't be talking about that to my players," he mused.
The coach expressed disappointment at Chiefs' first half showing against SuperSport and even though they were comfortable winners in the end - thanks to goals by Mandla Masango and Kingston Nkhatha - had a few words for his players afterwards.
"I told them I want us to put the bar as high as we can, in terms of running, movement and our skills on the ball."
Amakhosi wary of losing steam
KAIZER Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter is unsure whether the two-week break for his side will stymie the momentum they have established through the first month of the season or come as a much-needed break.
Chiefs won an eighth successive game of the new campaign as they stretched their leadership of the Absa Premiership after beating SuperSport United 2-0 on Saturday night.
They have won five in the league and three in the MTN8, where they play arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in the September 20 final at a venue yet to be confirmed.
But they now do not play again for a fortnight before hosting the University of Pretoria at Soccer City on September 13.
"There is an argument for and against," he explained. "The players do deserve a rest and we knew we would get that break. That's why we went for consistency in our team selection over the last month. It will do the squad good to get some rest and we'll give them a few days off now.
"But I hope we don't lose the momentum. That will be up to the players and it will be for us as the technical staff to challenge them when we get back to playing."
Baxter also dwelled on the question of a winning streak eventually becoming something of a burden and sometimes taking over the focus of a team. "I'll be thinking about that but I won't be talking about that to my players," he mused.
The coach expressed disappointment at Chiefs' first half showing against SuperSport and even though they were comfortable winners in the end - thanks to goals by Mandla Masango and Kingston Nkhatha - had a few words for his players afterwards.
"I told them I want us to put the bar as high as we can, in terms of running, movement and our skills on the ball."
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