Gallants not in panic mode despite jaws of relegation

Despite Maritzburg United and Swallows winning their games in the relegation battle this past weekend, Marumo Gallants say they have no pressure ahead of their match against Royal AM at Free State Stadium tonight (7.30pm), according to coach Dylan Kerr.

Gallants head into the match at the bottom of the DStv Premiership table, four points behind 15th-place Maritzburg, who beat TS Galaxy this past weekend.

But Kerr said the focus was not what other teams were doing but how he could get the best out of his players against Royal this evening.

“We can’t look at that. I knew Swallows would beat AmaZulu down there and I felt Maritzburg might sneak a draw, but they won the game,” Kerr explained to Sowetan yesterday. “So I said to the players, we can’t think about the other teams now, we must concentrate on ourselves.

“Whatever other teams do, we have to match them, so three points are available and we have to make sure we get them, but we are not feeling any pressure.”

Gallants also go into this match on the back of an impressive run in the CAF Confederation Cup, where they have qualified for the quarterfinals. They will need to translate that form to league matches in order to avoid straight relegation at the end of the season.

“We have to go into this game with the right attitude. It’s about the results now, it is not about performances,” Kerr said.

“When you are at the bottom of the league, everybody expects you to lose. I don’t think many people gave Swallows a chance against AmaZulu or Maritzburg against Galaxy. So at the end of the day, it is the players who want it more.

“We know what’s at stake and we have seven games left and every match is massive. This one is no different because from now until two weeks from now, we will have four games. So we have to make sure we capitalise.”

Fixtures

Tonight: Gallants v Royal AM, Free State Stadium, 7.30pm

Friday: SuperSport v Galaxy, TUT, 7.30pm

Saturday: Richards Bay v Arrows, King Zwelithini, 3pm; Sekhukhune v Maritzburg, Peter Mokaba, 5.30pm; Chippa v Pirates, Nelson Mandela Bay, 5.30pm; Chiefs v Gallants, FNB, 8pm

Sunday: Royal v Stellenbosch, Chatsworth, 3pm; Swallows v Sundowns, Dobsonville, 3pm; CPT v AmaZulu, Cape Town, 5.30pm.