"We've scheduled some friendly games and among the teams that we are going to face, we also have Sundowns."
Nabi also weighed in on his midfielder Edson Castillo's form, having shown flashes of redemption this season. Nabi believes Castillo's confidence took a knock when the team struggled last season, adding he wasn't yet back to his best as he warned him that he must step up because at a club like Chiefs opportunities are limited if a player doesn't step up.
"Castillo last season started good, but he went down [in his performances], that is the statistics. Maybe that situation impacted his morale, his confidence, after the bad time continued. At this moment after the pre-season started, the real Castillo has not come back,'' Nabi stated.
Nabi unhappy with PSL's stop-start schedule
Chiefs coach vows to get Castillo back on form
With their next league game only on October 26 away to SuperSport United, Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has sounded unhappy with the stoppage in the league programme, revealing they've lined up a friendly against Mamelodi Sundowns.
"I don't understand why the league stops like that after three games, really? We started on 16 September and played three games and we stop...guys please,'' Nabi said after their 2-1 defeat, his first at the club, to Sundowns at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
"We've scheduled some friendly games and among the teams that we are going to face, we also have Sundowns."
Nabi also weighed in on his midfielder Edson Castillo's form, having shown flashes of redemption this season. Nabi believes Castillo's confidence took a knock when the team struggled last season, adding he wasn't yet back to his best as he warned him that he must step up because at a club like Chiefs opportunities are limited if a player doesn't step up.
"Castillo last season started good, but he went down [in his performances], that is the statistics. Maybe that situation impacted his morale, his confidence, after the bad time continued. At this moment after the pre-season started, the real Castillo has not come back,'' Nabi stated.
"He’s a good man, he’s a gentleman, I respect him. I helped him regain confidence in himself, step by step. I think [against Sundowns] he was better than his last game. I give him a chance, but there’s not many chances to give, because of the responsibility of the club, I think he’s professional...if he gets his confidence back, he will progress."
While Chiefs' next league game is later this month, Amakhosi will be involved in the Carling Knockout. Next Tuesday, the draw for the first round of the Carling Knockout will be conducted at The Galleria in Sandton, with the games expected to start on the weekend of October 19-20.
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