Papic will not give in to pressure

CHIPPA United coach Kosta Papic is not feeling any pressure going into tonight's game against Maritzburg United at Harry Gwala Stadium, despite his side having lost their two previous games and remaining winless away from home.

Papic will be taking his seat on the Chilli Boys bench for the first time following his employers' struggle to secure him a work permit and PSL registration card.

It now remains to be seen if having him where he belongs on the touchline will turn the fortunes of Chippa, who have lost two games and won one of their opening three matches.

"I'm not going to say why we lost those games because I was not on the bench but yes, there will be a difference this time in that I will be able to give instructions directly to the players during the game."

Papic said there was no pressure to start collecting point thick and fast. "There are 27 matches to go before the season reaches the end and we are not looking at winning the league but avoiding relegation, and every game is about three points," he said.

Given that collecting points away from home is a difficult task in the PSL, Papic will be expected to at least secure a draw against United before the triple threat posed by on-form Ajax Cape Town, and Soweto giants Moroka Swallows and Orlando Pirates, Chippa's next three opponents.

If the Chilli Boys lose tonight's game, they could possibly drop right down to 14th on the 16-team table, depending on other results.

Added Papic; "We do not worry ourselves about who we are playing next and how other teams perform in their games.

"Our approach is one game at a time, but you know situations have not been favourable to us because of the problems with work permits, that is my only worry."

The newly promoted Chippa, who have been relegated before, will know a team is flirting with relegation very early once they plunge themselves into the bottom three positions of the league table, and history has proven it is not easy to get out of that scary zone.

"I will keep on saying this, we are not going to be relegated," Papic reiterated.

He is hoping on-song forward David Zulu will at least score a goal after netting twice in their last three. "This is one player who will always deliver when called upon and I wish he features regularly for Bafana Bafana in the future," Papic said.

Zulu said he was hoping to celebrate his recent Bafana call-up with a win. – Additional reporting by Ramatsiyi Moholoa - Mawande Mvumvu