Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela says his side will not rest during the Christmas break as they look to improve their form in the Absa Premiership during the second half of the season.

The Soweto giants ended 2017 on a high note as they won their last games against Platinum Stars and Ajax Cape Town respectively, but trail log-leaders, Mamelodi Sundowns by six points.

Komphela compared the upcoming break to the FIFA break and said that his players will hardly get days off before having to return to their normal regime.

“We are not going to break off, but we are just going to give them the break out. Today is done and they will be off, and they will be back on Wednesday,” he told kickoff.

“We will train Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and then we give them days, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and we are back again Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

“So we won’t rest, but we will have few days in between Christmas and New Year. From there we will resume on the second (January) and resume and prepare for SuperSport United.

“You have to prioritise, it is an awkward season. It is not even a minor recess,” he added.

Chiefs’ first assignment in the new year sees them come up against a rejuvenated Sundowns outfit.

“It is just that break and you can’t let them go. If you are allowing them to go for Christmas and New Year’s and you are having the match on the sixth.

“If you are looking to prioritise and you start looking at the match count looking backwards – even if you wanted to only train for the match on the sixth, when do you start, on the first? It is New Year’s Day.

“On the second, they are still tired and fatigued. You’ve got four days and you’ve got SuperSport on Saturday. So there’s no time.

“We are professionals. Entertainers are like your maestro, the audience is here, you give your best. The rest of the people came to Durban, and the next day, you are in Johannesburg. Entertainers don’t sleep.

“All that we do is honour our commitment and responsibilities, and while the rest of the world has fun, we entertain the world and we are not being entertained.

‘This break feels like an international break, where as you are about to get momentum and then there is a stoppage.

“We hope we will keep the momentum. We have to go for a minor recess, and we will be back again on the sixth against SuperSport. We will come back again and try to fight,” he concluded.

Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

-This story originally appeared on SportsClub.co.za