Kaizer Chiefs' embarrassing defeat to Young Africans has sent alarm bells ringing and has added more pressure in the club's pre-season preparations following a delay in the commencement of the Betway Premiership.
Chiefs set up the Toyota Cup pre-season friendly against Yanga on 28 July, in anticipation of officially opening their 2024/25 season the following week, the first week of August.
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However, a delay in procuring a new sponsor for the PSL has caused league fixtures to be pushed back by at least six weeks, with Amakhosi only officially taking to the field after the FIFA international break on 14 September against Marumo Gallants.
Not qualifying for the MTN8, which starts this weekend, is the main cause of this preparation headache, but the Glamour Boys' 4-0 defeat to the Tanzanian giants has shown that they are not ready for the start of the campaign and currently have had to make big changes to their planning.
The type of opposition Chiefs will be facing in friendlies before they open their Betway Premiership season will become the main focus.
They are reportedly planning to hold another pre-season camp in Botswana, with Gaborone United mooted as one of the opposition.
Speaking to SuperSport TV on Sunday, the club's Sporting Director Kaizer Motaung Jr admitted that starting officially only on 14 September is a challenge and confirmed friendlies for this weekend.
"Our first game is on 14 September. We're gonna come back to Johannesburg next week and line up important friendlies, it's a little bit of a mini pre-season for us," Motaung Jr said.
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"It's a challenge because at times you have a periodization phase, the league starting on a certain time. From a sports science and technical department, we'll adjust.
"It might give more time for the group to get together, but we'll make major adjustments in terms of the plans moving forward. It is what it is and we'll be ready to go whenever we're called upon."
Amakhosi could schedule behind-the-scenes friendly matches against other PSL teams who have not qualified for the MTN8, before holding another camp out of the country.