CAPE TOWN - Benni McCarthy is hoping to have a full squad to choose from for AmaZulu’s Dstv Premiership opener against champions Mamelodi Sundowns on Friday evening despite his team still battling with Covid-19 infections.
Last season’s two top sides will resume their rivalry in what is expected to be an entertaining kickoff to the new season at Loftus Versveld. However, AmaZulu struggled to build any momentum during pre-season due to positive Covid-19 infections and subsequent contract tracing that forced players to self-isolate.
Usuthu were without almost an entire playing XI in their MTN8 quarter-final defeat to Cape Town City last weekend, but McCarthy is hoping the situation improves this week.
“It is not an easy game away from home against Sundowns, but we can prepare ourselves very well,” McCarthy said.
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“I think this week for me it is going to be just to see if we will be able to get our players registered in time and ready for the Sundowns game because it was crucial players who I was not able to make use of [against City].
“We had 11 players who tested positive for Covid-19 [ahead of the match against City] so they were self-isolating.
“They are back at training and we will have everyone available but these guys have lost 10 days after having to be isolated. We need to get ourselves to a decent level so we can compete against the league champions.”
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Despite these disruptions which have undoubtedly affected the players’ fitness levels, McCarthy is adamant that the Usuthu will stick to their high-octane pressure tactics that captured the imagination of the entire South African football public last season.
"I don't really care what other managers and other teams do against us. That's our philosophy, that's the way we try to press and take the games to teams,” the current PSL Coach of the Season said.
"We'll try and press them (the opposition) in the right areas and continue to do that, that's how we ended up in the situation that we did, that was our football so we will insist on that.”
@ZaahierAdams
IOL Sport