AmaZulu FC coach Jozef Vukusic insists he is not having any anxiety symptoms as fears of relegation continue to grow.
Usuthu are yet to win a match in 2020 despite having already played four so far. They have lost three of those games – to Mamelodi Sundowns, SuperSport United and Maritzburg United – with the other game drawn with Cape Town City.
Those results have left them last on the Absa Premiership table, with 17 points from 19 games. On the positive side, there are three other teams on the same number of points and Vukusic says he is not yet panicking.
Usuthu travel to Soweto to face the in-form Orlando Pirates on Saturday. Pirates are on a role at the moment and have won four out of five matches under new coach Josef Zinnbauer and drawn the other one.
They are up to fifth on the table after that run. In contrast, AmaZulu began the new year with a 3-0 hammering at the hands of champions Sundowns, drew 2-2 away at the Citizens in Cape Town and then lost to SuperSport and Maritzburg in the KZN derby. It has been bleak reading so far and Vukusic knows it.
With more than a third of the campaign remaining, Vukusic still believes that time is on their side.
After playing Pirates in Orlando, the fixture list does get a bit kinder, with home matches against fellow strugglers Polokwane City and Golden Arrows to follow.
They are also scheduled to tackle Baroka FC, Bloemfontein Celtic, Black Leopards and Highlands Park in front of their home fans before the season closes and the Slovak coach is adamant that his team know exactly what to do.
Looking ahead to the Pirates game, Vukusic knows it will not be easy for his out-of-sorts team to get maximum points, which they need, from an in-form team like the Bucs.
But he says his players do have what it takes to challenge the Soweto side, adding that they will give everything come kick-off time of 6pm at Orlando Stadium on Saturday. – Report by Thahir Asmal
