Despite being relegated after suffering a devastating 2-1 loss to AmaZulu on Wednesday night, Platinum Stars coach Roger De Sa has urged his men to pick themselves up and continue fighting.

A run of poor results saw Dikwena rooted to the bottom of the table and they knew, coming into the clash against AmaZulu, that their fate was not in their hands.

De Sa’s team needed results to go their way, but a SuperSport United victory over Free States Stars and their loss to Usuthu sealed their relegation.

In a statement released by the club, De Sa urged his men to focus on their remaining matches against Golden Arrows and Bidvest Wits.

‘The only way is forward. You got a game on Saturday, you got to play it. You got a game a week after that, you have got to play. You have to play to win. We will keep on doing that. We are not going to stop now. We carry on,’ said De Sa.

‘We can’t sit here and point fingers. It is what it is. We have got to face tomorrow and be ready for it.’

De Sa was once again made to lament his men’s poor showings in front of goal. Against AmaZulu it was the same story of Dikwena creating chances but failing to bury them.

‘This sums up the season for us. We controlled the first half, don’t allow the opposition to play, get all the opportunities and come second half, the first chance they get is a goal. It’s been like that for us the last seven months. We don’t have that killer instinct in the final third that has been lacking. As much as we work on it all the time at training, we just don’t finish off the games.

‘I told players at half-time that you got them by the scruff of the neck. You can’t let it go now. You have got to kill it off. We didn’t do it and we got punished. It’s probably the 15th time that has happened to us. It’s disappointing. I can’t fault the players. They fight hard. They give it their all,’ said De Sa.

De Sa will be hoping his team will hear his message and show some character when they face Golden Arrows at Princess Magogo Stadium this coming Saturday afternoon, with kick-off at 3pm.

Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix