Cape Town City assistant coach Lebo Manyama says having a good squad on paper means niks, soccer is played on grass and for that reason they won’t get grootkop ahead of the new PSL season.
City kick off their 2024/25 PSL Premiership campaign against Royal AM at the Harry Gwala Stadium on Saturday.
And after a fifth place last season, some impressive signings mean there is a real buzz around the Citizens as they look to start the term on a high.
New stars Haashim Domingo, Fortune Makaringe, Kamohelo Mokotjo, Amadou Soukouna, Carlinhos, Ntsikelelo Ngqonga, Kayden Francis, Elson Sithole, Sibusiso Ziba, Lefa Aphane and Prins Tjiueza will all look to make an impact at the club.
Of the expectation ahead of the season, Manyama says: “We’ve gathered a good looking team, on paper, but we all know you play on the field.
“We’ve kind of shown what we can do. We faced a mighty force in Orlando [in the MTN8 semi-final against Orlando Pirates], which was so difficult. We lost to a better team on the day.
“But there is so much optimism in our team and we are confident in what we can do as a club.
“We finished fifth last season, and we’re looking to go further than that. But, importantly, we must look to secure our status [in the league] first to be fair and take it one game at a time.”
Stellies, meanwhile, are on Confed Cup duty this week and start their PSL campaign against Golden Arrows next Wednesday.