Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Willard Katsande has stressed the importance of winning the Carling Black Label Cup encounter against Orlando Pirates, especially for the new players.

Katsande will feature alongside Hendrick Ekstein and George Maluleka in the midfield, as voted for by Chiefs fans, and despite the encounter being a pre-season spectacle, the Zimbabwean highlighted that there will be everything to play for against their arch rivals.

“When you are playing a derby, it is an interesting game and people can take it as a pre-season game, but the history between these two teams is always exciting,” he told KickOff.

“There will be many supporters coming for this game, some coming from outside the country, which shows that it is an important game.

“We also have bragging rights to play for. Plus, I think we need to help the new guys and the upcoming stars to try to explain what it means to play in the derby and the requirements.

“For now we have told them, ‘Yes, you were playing against Pirates wherever you were, but now you are playing against Pirates in Chiefs colours, so the atmosphere is different, just like the tempo will also be different.’

“So we are trying to make them a bit relaxed and ready to play,” he added.

Neither Chiefs or Pirates’ new signings were voted to be part of the teams’ respective starting line-ups by the fans, and Katsande said the game serves as the perfect opportunity to continue to try and tweak aspects of their game.

“We are trying to work on one or two things, and tweaking some aspects of our game. Overall we are continuing from last season because last season we were playing some fantastic football.

“It is only that we couldn’t win anything and we were conceding, so we are trying to work on our defensive shape to make everyone understand that everyone is a defender.

“In order for you to attack well you need to defend properly, so that is what we are working on, everybody must have a role in defending.

“If you look at the history of football it shows that the more you are jealous with your goals the more you are bound to win matches. So obviously good defending wins you championships,” he concluded.

– This story originally appeared on SportsClub.co.za

Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/Backpagepix