Swallows FC head coach Ernest Middendorp looked to play down expectations due to the club's ongoing transfer ban.
Middendorp has been forced to turn to the club's Diski team to reinforce his squad for the remainder of the season.
Read: Sundowns squeeze past Swallows
Swallows are prohibited from registering any new players by FIFA as punishment after failing to compensate former Serbian duo Vladimir Mandic and Obren Cuckovic.
The Dube Birds were due to sign former Orlando Pirates captain Happy Jele and midfielder Promise Mkhuma from Mamelodi Sundowns a few months ago but both deals failed to materialise.
Middendorp handed Ian Makaringe his Swallows debut during the DStv Premiership defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns on Tuesday.
"You can't play shoeshine soccer when you don't have the resources," Middendorp said.
"You cannot compete with a Fiat 500 and expect to win the Formula 1, that's not possible and we need to stick with the resources we have and develop it.
"We have to look at our Diski team. There are two or three players I have figured out.
"We have other players on the bench now like Makaringe and other guys that we have to bring in.
"We have to bring them close to help ourselves in particular now that everybody knows the difficulty we have in terms of the FIFA ban.
Ian Makaringe is a younger brother to Orlando Pirates midfielder, Fortune Makaringe.
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