Marumo Gallants assistant coach Raymond Mdaka sees their Nedbank Cup clash against Orlando Pirates as the biggest test they’ve faced amid their resurgence.

Gallants are flying high as they are unbeaten in their past five outings, with four wins and a draw across the league and Nedbank Cup. Bahlabane Ba Ntwa welcome the Buccaneers, who are still licking their wounds after a derby defeat to Kaizer Chiefs at the weekend, in the Ke Yona Cup last-16 game at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday (6pm).

“This is going to be one of the most difficult games that we’ve ever played now. We’ve not been having a good run per se but a better run. It’s a challenge to face Pirates, given the magnitude of the club and the kind of players they have,’’ Mdaka said during a virtual media conference on Monday.

Moving away from the relegation zone has alleviated a bit of the pressure on Gallants, according to Mdaka. He said it was important for them to move up the table before Wednesday's Nedbank Cup game.

“We had to make sure that we move away from the bottom of the standings, knowing that there are some Nedbank Cup games in between. The priority was for us to play with less pressure. Moving away from the relegation zone means we don’t have that much pressure,’’ said Mdaka.

The Gallants assistant coach also shed light on why Sibusiso Kumalo has been starting off the bench of late, having had a brilliant first round of the season as a starter.

“Sibusiso has got all we need in a player... it’s just that the kind of formation we play sometimes requires one sitting central midfielder. So that’s when we cannot play the two of them... him and Miguel Tim. For now, the kind of format we prefer allows only one No 6 to play, but we normally put him in. At the moment Tim is the one who we prefer to start with,’’ Mdaka explained.