Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Samkelo Zwane has opened up on the mood inside the change room this season ahead of the Soweto giants' acid test against Mamelodi Sundowns at a potentially sold-out FNB Stadium.
Chiefs and Sundowns go up against each other on Saturday in a league clash that promises to be a little less one-sided than the 5-1 drubbing inflicted on the home side in the last encounter between the two in May.
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The two titans go into the match on an equal footing in terms of form, having both won their respective two opening matches of the Betway Premiership campaign.
Zwane, who is looking likely to get way more minutes this season than he did under both Molefi Ntseki and Cavin Johnson last term, said Amakhosi are well aware of the threat posed by the defending champions.
"I think Sundowns are known in the country to be playing a high quality of football. So, I think it's been a style of play of them for a while. We are really just focusing on ourselves.
"It's obviously a big game. I think we as Kaizer Chiefs have to obviously focus on ourselves and do what we can do and play to our strengths," said the Chiefs development graduate, speaking at the pre-match press conference on Thursday.
Zwane, son of Orlando Pirates legend Eugene Zwane, says the 5-1 drubbing has only served as motivation.
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This time around, the Soweto giants go in with a new coach, new technical team and as many as seven new signings.
"For us as players, it is a motivator. It's another opportunity for us to prove that we can win.
"Yes, definitely [there is a change in the dressing room]. There is more positive energy, more togetherness, more unity and more fighting spirit. So, I think, as a whole team, we are ready to take on the season, for sure."