Bloemfontein Celtic coach John Maduka admits his side is under no illusions about what they are facing when they go up against Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 final this weekend.
The two sides have already met this season when Pirates marked their first win of the DStv Premiership campaign with a narrow 1-0 win over Siwelele courtesy of a Siphelele Ndlovu strike.
Pirates have enjoyed a fine start to the season under Josef Zinnbauer and overcoming them will be no easy feat according to Maduka.
"Look, Pirates are a team that have been playing good football. I know they have played so many games unbeaten. Since we started this season, they haven't lost any game, so that alone tells you that it's not going to be an easy game," Maduka told the media in a virtual press conference.
"We are playing against a team that is well organised in defence, they know exactly what they are doing offensively, going forward. So, we know exactly what we are facing and we have tried our best to make sure that we prepare well and we play the game according to our plan but at the same time we don't put ourselves under pressure, we go there and give our best and to enjoy the game, which is the most important thing," Maduka explained.
With one trophy having already slipped through their grasp against Mamelodi Sundowns at the tail-end of last season, Celtic will be hoping to make amends this time around and go all the way and win their first trophy since 2012.
"This is our second final in months, so it is very important for us to go and win this one; but, at the same time we can only win if we apply ourselves in a very good manner and we give everything to the best of our ability and the results will follow. So we know it is a very important game for us and it is going to be very difficult but like I said, with the squad that we have, we are capable of competing with anyone else and we are looking forward to the game," Maduka added.
Kick off for the match is now scheduled for 18:00 as opposed to the previously stated time of 18:30 this Saturday.
