Saturday afternoon’s Soweto Derby will be the sixth League meeting that Baxter will oversee from the bench since taking over at the country’s most popular club in June 2012.
In the five League Soweto derbies that the Englishman has been in charge of to date, he has drawn three and won the last two for a much-needed confidence booster ahead of this match, which if he wins will leave him needing another 15 points from the 24 still available to wrap up the Championship this year.
What also gives Chiefs the edge is that they haven’t lost to their biggest rivals in a League contest since Benni McCarthy struck a brace three years ago in an entertaining 3-2 win for The Bucs.
Also swinging the pendulum towards Amakhosi is that they are not only top of the log, but also won their mid-week fixture against Ajax Cape Town while Pirates could only settle for a draw against Free State Stars.
However, Baxter will also want to make sure that his unbeaten League record against The Bucs remains safe in his back pocket.
In Baxter’s first season in charge at Chiefs he came up against a Roger de Sa coached Pirates on 8 December 2012, drawing drew that game 1-1 with Collins Mbesuma opening the scoring before Lehlohonolo Majoro struck the equaliser for Amakhosi.
The reverse fixture finished goalless.
Last season the first League meeting was another 1-1 draw with Kermit Erasmus stabbing home the opener before Kingston Nkhatha levelled the scores, despite spending most of that game being booed.
Baxter eventually took his first full set of points in March last year courtesy of Willard Katsande’s header in a game which finished 1-0 to the Glamour Boys.
The Englishman again went home smiling with all the points last December when he guided Chiefs to a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Siphiwe Tshabalala and Siphelele Mthembu in Eric Tinkler’s first game in charge following the resignation of VV.
Three Pirates coaches – Roger de Sa, Vladimir Vermezovic and Eric Tinkler – have all tried and failed against Baxter in the League so far, though the former Bafana Bafana midfielder will get another chance on Saturday.
In the three cup games that Baxter has overseen against Pirates he has won once (2014 MTN8 final), lost once (2013 MTN8 semi-final, first leg) and drawn once (2013 MTN8 semi-final, second leg).