Comeback kid Chippa United coach Dan Malesela is looking at trimming down his squad to 28 players ahead of the new Premier Soccer League season kicking off on August 3.
Malesela made a surprise return to the Port Elizabeth-based club last month, replacing Serbian coach Vladislav Heric, who was axed by the club last week.
The Chilli Boys’ preseason training got under way last week as they hope to get a head start on other PSL teams ahead of the new season.
The 52-year-old said he was delighted with how things were going at training so far.
However, he said he was looking to have a smaller Chippa squad than he was working with at the moment.
“Training is fine, all is going well,” the former Orlando Pirates defender said.
“We are battling with trying to find a balance within the team in terms of playing personnel. We must have a squad of about 28 players, but at the moment we have 33.
“So, we need to trim the team down to 28.“Some players are talented and we don’t want to lose them, but the numbers just don’t allow us to keep players. We are trying to get a balance within positions and back-ups.
“That is what we are working on at the moment.”
Malesela said starting pre-season preparations earlier than most teams in the league would be to their advantage.
“Besides having new players, even the old players who were here, there are systems and different things I want to put in place and they take time.
“That is why we have reopened earlier than most of the clubs in the PSL.”
The former Cape Town All Stars mentor said they would spend the bulk of their preseason training in PE and only spend a week in Johannesburg for friendly games.