Marumo Gallants head coach Dan Malesela says it’s a blessing for his side to play against Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs at the Free State Stadium on Saturday.
Malesela, who was handed the reigns at the Free State-based outfit, after Dylan Kerr stepped down from the role because of the club's proposed co-coaching arrangement, said it was a blessing to play against the mighty Amakhosi as the stadium will be packed.
"I think it's a blessing. It is a good thing that we then have a stadium that will be packed for our first game just to launch ourselves and our football as Marumo Gallants,“ said Malesela.
Two weeks ago, Amakhosi suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to TS Galaxy in a behind-closed-doors friendly game.
Before that, they also lost by the exact score line against Tanzanian outfit Young African during the Toyota Cup tournament.
Malesela, however, says he was not reading too much into Chiefs’ struggles in pre-season, stating that pre-season games can be deceiving.
"No, I'm not even thinking about the friendly matches or the practice matches they have played, if you do that you will be deceived," Malesela added.
It will not be an easy match for Gallants as Chiefs will be looking to start the on a high after a disastrous campaign last season.
IOL Sport