HAVING coached in the Cape and Soweto derbies before, Maritzburg United coach Roger de Sa has downplayed talk that he will have an upper hand when his side visits Lamontville Golden Arrows in the KwaZulu-Natal derby at Princess Magogo Stadium tomorrow (6pm).
De Sa is no stranger to coaching in matches involving fierce rivals. During his stint at Orlando Pirates between 2012 and 2014, he guided the Buccaneers in the Soweto derby.
Furthermore, in his time with Santos (between 2005 and 2007) he had battles with Ajax Cape Town, who he also coached for two years, until late last year.
The 2013 CAF Champions League runner-up joined the Team of Choice last month, taking over from caretaker coach Fadlu Davids.
Heading into tomorrow's derby, Arrows are seventh on the table with 24 points, one point above De Sa's charges, who are eighth.
"Both teams have equal chance to win this game, there is no advantage for me at all," De Sa said. "Yes, I have experience of coaching in games of this nature but that counts for nothing.
"I have been telling my players to remain grounded. The tactical discipline is very important. Our win against Free Stars [last week] means nothing now. We need to fully focus on the Arrows game."
He added: "The good thing is that we have no player on the sidelines. That provides us with many options. All players are upbeat because this is a derby clash. They show signs of wanting to win this game, hence I am positive that we will get the maximum points.''
Past derbies matter little, says De Sa
HAVING coached in the Cape and Soweto derbies before, Maritzburg United coach Roger de Sa has downplayed talk that he will have an upper hand when his side visits Lamontville Golden Arrows in the KwaZulu-Natal derby at Princess Magogo Stadium tomorrow (6pm).
De Sa is no stranger to coaching in matches involving fierce rivals. During his stint at Orlando Pirates between 2012 and 2014, he guided the Buccaneers in the Soweto derby.
Furthermore, in his time with Santos (between 2005 and 2007) he had battles with Ajax Cape Town, who he also coached for two years, until late last year.
The 2013 CAF Champions League runner-up joined the Team of Choice last month, taking over from caretaker coach Fadlu Davids.
Heading into tomorrow's derby, Arrows are seventh on the table with 24 points, one point above De Sa's charges, who are eighth.
"Both teams have equal chance to win this game, there is no advantage for me at all," De Sa said. "Yes, I have experience of coaching in games of this nature but that counts for nothing.
"I have been telling my players to remain grounded. The tactical discipline is very important. Our win against Free Stars [last week] means nothing now. We need to fully focus on the Arrows game."
He added: "The good thing is that we have no player on the sidelines. That provides us with many options. All players are upbeat because this is a derby clash. They show signs of wanting to win this game, hence I am positive that we will get the maximum points.''
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