Kaizer Chiefs head coach Arthur Zwane has revealed his motivating factor for the club to get the consolation prize of qualifying for the CAF Champions League.
Chiefs have been struggling to climb up in the DStv Premiership standings, let alone challenge leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, after they lost for the third time in a row with a 1-0 defeat to Sundowns this past weekend and have since dropped down to sixth on the log.
Following the defeat to the Brazilians, Zwane has admitted that their realistic target would be chasing a second place finish, which guarantees CAF Champions League football.
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Chiefs defied the odds in 2021 to reach the final of Africa's premier club competition and fell short by one last match to win it for the first time in the club's history after going down 3-0 to Al Ahly in the final.
'Mangethe' was part of the coaching staff that reached the final, firstly as one of the assistants to former coach Gavin Hunt, was in charge temporarily for the two-legged semi-final against Wydad Casablanca, before he made way for returning head coach Stuart Baxter in the final.
The Amakhosi legend says that it's important for them to qualify for the CAF Champions League, as it helps the players grow.
"Ja, look we really wanna go and play in the (CAF) Champions League next season, I've tasted it you know when I was part of the team as an assistant coach two seasons ago," Zwane told the media in a press conference.
"So I want to go back there. I think that will help our boys to grow, to know how is it like to compete at that level, because some of these players must come back and represent the country at international level.
"So it's equally important for us to participate at that level, so we will push for a second spot if we can't get anything but I think second spot is realistic," he said.
Chiefs have not won a trophy since 2015 and given that they are 25 points behind table-toppers Sundowns (with two games in hand), their only hope of winning silverware is the Nedbank Cup, which starts early next month.
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The Soweto-born coach went on to suggest that they will go all out in the Nedbank Cup to avoid the trophy drought stretching to eight seasons.
"The team has not been winning cups for many years and Nedbank we'll give our outmost best as well to make sure that we go all the way and win it if we can," he added.
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