Though Kaizer Chiefs may be mathematically closer to the relegation zone than Caf football qualification, eternal optimist Cavin Johnson foresees a strong finish to the DStv Premiership for his team.
Chiefs currently have 30 points and are 10th on the Premiership log, just four points above Moroka Swallows who are 14th and third from bottom in the table.
While the bottom three will be involved in a relegation battle until the end of the season, the top three on the log will qualify for Caf competitions.
The top two teams qualify for the Champions League, while the side that finishes third books a ticket into the Confederation Cup.
In fact, Chiefsâ arch rivals Orlando Pirates currently occupy third spot on the log with 40 points. Thatâs a full 10 points ahead of the AmaKhosi.
Defiant response
When asked if he had given up on qualifying for Caf competition, Johnson was defiant in his response.
âIâll never say goodbye until the last game. We as a technical team have to push as hard as we can. For us, thatâs [qualifying for Caf competition] not out of our way. We know that. Itâs one major pressure. But the bubble that weâre in now, we have to break the pressure bubble somewhere,â said Johnson.
With their latest defeat to Richards Bay FC in Durban on Sunday, it extended Chiefsâ winless streak in the league to five matches which dates back to March 5 when they picked up their last victory.
After the Richards Bay loss, Johnson rued his sideâs lack of clinical finishing.
âIt was one of those games where your opposition has one chance at goal, and you have 85 percent ball possession and you are not able to win the game. We are very angry with ourselves. At the same time, I thought we should have won the game in the first half.
âThe second half was a little bit different, but in the first half we had a lot of possession in the box quite a few times. We should have put the combinations [together] and used calmness to score the goals.
âIt was not to be today. The players are in the dressing room arguing with each other over things we know we should do better.â