Richards Bay coach Kaitano Tembo has expressed his concern about facing Mamelodi Sundowns, who have won their opening five games so far this season.
Tembo and his men will host Sundowns at the King Zwelithini Stadium in KZN on Wednesday, with kick-off set for 17:00.
Sundowns are the favourite to win the DStv Premiership title again this season, and they are expected to beat Richards Bay, who are yet to win a game since January. The Tshwane giants have won all their five matches in all competitions this season: four in the league and one in the MTN8.
They are at the summit of the log standings with 12 points, five ahead of second-placed SuperSport United. Unlike Chippa United coach Morgan Mammila, who had promised to match Sundowns pound for pound, only to suffer a 2-0 defeat at the weekend, Tembo has admitted that he is worried.
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“It’s worrying, but at the same time, I think it’s an opportunity for the club to try and take a step further and improve from our last game,” said Tembo.
“I don’t need to try and motivate the players in that game. It’s a stage every PSL player wants to be, so it’s also up to them to show who they are if they are ready to play in that stage.”
In the new season, Richards Bay have only picked up a single point from three games, and that was against rivals AmaZulu FC at the weekend. And despite the Natal Rich Boys’ struggles in the last few months, Tembo insists he is not afraid of being fired.
“My experience in football, if you look at all the promoted teams, when they come from the Motsepe Foundation Championship, they do very well. Some start struggling either in the second season or maybe towards the end,” he said.
“It is something that I saw, I don’t know why, but this is what happens. I can’t be worried about getting fired. I’m a coach, and at the end of the day, I will be fired anyway. So, I should not be worried about that. What I should worry about is for me to give my all to the club to show what I can do.
“I think that’s very important to me because, in football, you can be fired even if you are on top of the log, so it is normal, it happens. For me, it’s not even an issue. I just want to try and make a difference in the club. If they feel that I’m doing a good job, that’s important to me.”