Solomons On Pressure To Secure Top 8, Impact Of Nabi Exit Talks
As they continue their quest to secure a top-eight spot, Kaizer Chiefs defender Dillan Solomons says their final Betway Premiership encounter against Polokwane City is akin to a cup final and sheds light on the impact of Nasreddine Nabi’s exit rumours.
The Glamour Boys are on the back of a frustrating stalemate against Sekhukhune United in their last league outing and will head into their penultimate fixture with sheer grit and determination to avoid missing out on a top-eight finish for two successive seasons.
Nabi’s men are currently in ninth place in the Betway Premiership standings, with 31 points accumulated from 27 matches. A win will confirm their place in next season’s MTN8, with a host of other teams keen and still in contention for the spot.
With the must-win clash on the horizon, the 28-year-old right-back believes the match is one of their biggest encounters of the season, stating that the mandate is to collect maximum points as the Soweto giants are not interested in settling for less.
“You can categorize it as one of the biggest games of the season, obviously it’s like a cup final to us. The last three games have been like cup finals to us, so we know how important this game is,” said Solomons.
“We have to go in there knowing that we have to get the maximum three points that are available to us on the day.”
On the swirling reports suggesting the Tunisian mentor is set to be shown the exit door at the end of the ongoing campaign, despite ending the club’s decade-long trophy drought, Solomons acknowledges the situation is out of the players’ hands and suggests the speculation is not destabilizing the team.
“Obviously, people have been talking, but there is nothing that we can do about people who are talking. We just have to do what we have to do and that is coming to training every day and putting in the work and showing the coach that we are here to work, and that’s all that we can do,” he added.
“We can only control what we can control, and if people are going to talk outside, that is their opinion, and we will see. We don’t know what’s going on, all we can do is come to training and just put in the work.”
Chiefs will host seventh-placed Rise and Shine at the FNB Stadium on Saturday [15:00]. With 33 points amassed, the Limpopo-based outfit is equally determined to register a respectable finish in the top half of the table.
