Marumo now dream of Top 8

Marumo Gallants' recent resurgence has made them believe that they can even finish in the top eight, reveals talismanic winger Lesiba Nku.

Marumo are unbeaten in their last five league fixtures with two wins and three draws. Bahlabane Ba Ntwa's recent purple patch has seen them move away from the relegation zone. Nku has made it clear they have now set their sights on the top eight finish. Marumo host SuperSport United at Peter Mokaba Stadium tonight (7.30pm).

"We are motivated by the way we've been playing of late. We are going all out in each and every game because now we can smell the top eight. We can't look back now. Our aim is to win all our [four] remaining games [in the league], starting with SuperSport tomorrow [today]. However, we know that we are not safe yet, so we won't rest on our laurels,'' Nku told Sowetan yesterday.

Marumo's reawakening started from the CAF Confederation Cup, where they finished top of Group A to set-up a quarterfinal date with Egyptian side Pyramids. Nku is adamant the experience of playing continental football has helped them to turn things around domestically, saying their turn of mind has been massively boosted by their Confed Cup participation. 

"One thing that the Confed Cup has taught us is to have the right mentality all the time. Travelling across the continent has fortified our mental strength because of the vile reception we received when we played away. We did sulk but we took lessons out of that,'' Nku said.

The 26-year-old right-winger pointed to their last two results against Chippa United and Kaizer Chiefs as the perfect example of how their character has changed since their involvement in the Confed Cup. Against Chippa, they came from a goal down to win 3-1, while against Chiefs they settled for a 1-all draw after conceding first.

"In our last two league games against Chippa and Chiefs we came from behind and managed to get the results, that tells you about our character as a team. I attribute that to the experience we've been gaining on the continent,'' Nku noted.

Fixtures 

Today: Marumo v SuperSport, Peter Mokaba (7.30pm)

Friday: Maritzburg v Bay, Harry Gwala (7.30pm)

Saturday: Pirates v CPT City, Orlando (3pm); Galaxy v Royal, Mbombela (3pm); Stellenbosch v Swallows, Danie Craven (5.30pm)

Sunday: Sekhukhune v Chiefs, Peter Mokaba; SuperSport v AmaZulu, TUT (5.30pm)