Marumo Gallants coach Dan "Dance" Malesela is surprised how quickly his players have adjusted to his philosophy.

Gallants are enjoying a good run in both the DStv Premiership and Nedbank Cup as they remain unbeaten in their last seven matches in both competitions. While he is impressed with how the team is gelling, Malesela said he didn’t expect this to happen quickly under his guidance.

“I think we are at a stage now where the players cannot rely too much on us. They know what is expected from them. There is a good sign of maturity in the team," Malesela told Sowetan yesterday.

“There are things that surprised me in terms of how quickly these guys have adjusted. But I also see the things that one would expect because of what we see at training.

“Sometimes the things we see at training are not seen in the game. I know different levels of performance, but it is good that we are responding the way we are.”

Bahlabane Ba Ntwa are 10th in the table and Malesela said there is a belief that they can finish in the top eight.

“There were two things that were supposed to happen. The first one was to get ourselves away from the bottom, which we now partially did because it is still very close,” he said.

“Anything can still happen. We are left with eight games. Some teams got 10, nine. So we still have a duty to perform. Everybody is fighting for their lives.

“The number two team [Royal AM], it's not far between us and them [seven points difference]. The bottom team is also not far, so we are in the middle of the sea where we have to decide whether we continue the journey or go back.”

Gallants will be looking to continue their impressive run when they visit Cape Town City on Saturday at Cape Town Stadium at 5.30pm.

“It is not an easy team to play against, particularly since they have not been playing. We were initially supposed to play this match on Sunday, but Cape Town City asked if the match could be brought forward for whatever reasons. So we will give our all.”