Stuart Baxter has responded to suggestions that the upcoming Soweto Derby will have no spark because Mamelodi Sundowns have nullified its significance, given their unassailable lead at the top of the DStv Premiership standings.
Amakhosi face rivals Orlando Pirates on Saturday afternoon in a fight for bragging rights and a potential CAF Champions League spot with their Tshwane counterparts clear favourites for the title – they are 16 points clear of third placed Chiefs, although the Glamour Boys do have three matches in hand, two that are the subject of an ongoing case with the Premier Soccer League after they were not played in December.
Have a look at pics from the Chiefs training this week.
Pirates are fourth and 17 points behind Downs with a game in hand.
"I don't accept that," Baxter told journalists in the build-up to the Soweto Derby before adding, "because if you ask our supporters, if you ask the Pirates supporters, their sponsors our ours – anybody involved with each football club, it's not only bragging rights or the three points."
Even though the Englishman has in the past warned that the match between these two giants could lose its spark if neither win the league title soon, he defended what it means for the SA football fraternity.
"There's history and prestige, which makes it much more special than any normal game. For all those respects, we've been working very hard and as we move closer to the game obviously the focus is on being able to come into the game in the right frame of mind so we can give a good performance," Baxter explained.
"That's what we are working on at the moment. The tragedy is that the supporters are not there, and that's what makes it the Soweto Derby really. But for all the other reasons I've given we still be fired up for it and ready to go."
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