Why Amakhosi can't take Casric lightly

As history doesn't really favour them against minnows, Kaizer Chiefs assistant coach Dillon Sheppard has stressed the importance of approaching Sunday's Nedbank Cup clash (FNB Stadium, 6pm) against second-tier outfit Casric Stars with the right attitude.

In 2019, Chiefs were stunned by TS Galaxy in the Nedbank Cup final. By then, Galaxy were still a second-tier side and that remains Amakhosi's most memorable defeat against a lower division team, having also lost to the likes of Pretoria University and Richards Bay among other lower-division teams.

"You don't want to look at the past. It's very important to approach this game with the right mindset. The right mentality is the first important step going into a game. It's not about the division our opponent is playing in but it's a quarterfinal berth that's waiting for us,'' Sheppard said during a media conference at the league's Parktown headquarters yesterday.

Sheppard gave a sense that avoiding conceding in their last two games against Orlando Pirates and Richards Bay has invigorated the team. Sheppard emphasised that they intend to continue gaining momentum. They won both the previous outings 1-0.

"We have kept two clean sheets in our last two games... we're gaining momentum. A trophy to play for, a very important trophy to play for. The energy among the guys has been really, really good. More than anything, it's about the momentum now... we want to continue gaining momentum until the end of the season,'' Sheppard said.

He also pledged his full support for coach Arthur Zwane, who has incurred a fair amount of wrath from the Amakhosi faithful this season. "My role as an assistant is to assist him [Zwane] in every single possible way. I am there for him. When times are tough, he knows I got his back 100%, that's really important,'' Sheppard underlined.