Despite Saturday's highly anticipated Soweto Derby against Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs coach Fernando da Cruz has maintained that Tuesday's Carling Knockout match against TS Galaxy remains his first priority.

After Chiefs' 3-2 penalty shootout loss to Zambian side Red Arrows and subsequent elimination from the CAF Confederation Cup group stage, the French coach enters a pivotal week.

With that loss and their previous elimination from the MTN8, Chiefs now have just the Carling Knockout and the Nedbank Cup to contend for in terms of knockout competitions this season.

After a disappointing campaign under Khalil Ben Youssef and Cedric Kaze as co-coaches, the team turned to Da Cruz with the hopes of a better performance this time around. They led Amakhosi to third place in the league and the Confederation Cup group stage, but the club's decision-makers decided not to extend their contracts.

Even the Chiefs are having a tough league season. At the moment, they are nine points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who are joined at the top of the standings by Orlando Pirates. The team has to win 41 of its final 22 league games to tie or beat last year's total of 54 points.

In light of it, the Carling Knockout is more significant than before. Chiefs will face TS Galaxy at FNB Stadium on Tuesday, cognisant that the confidence-boosting derby might be derailed by another poor outcome.

Instead of letting themselves get swept away by the mounting strain, Da Cruz has insisted that his players look forward to the next challenge.

"We must prepare to qualify for the next round," he stated, emphasising the importance of the next Carling Cup match.

"We should not force the players to perform under duress."

He emphasised the importance of his team's character and tenacity, and the 54-year-old was certain that their persistent efforts will pay off in the end.

"The luck will turn on our side, and we will win more games if we continue to play with character and intensity," Da Cruz remarked.

He went on to say that the Chiefs still had a long way to go in their season and that they had a lot of work ahead of them.

Meeting with TS Galaxy on Tuesday gives Amakhosi a chance to advance in a tournament they can still win. Their focus will then shift to Saturday's Soweto Derby versus Pirates, another match that the club and its fans are very excited about, following that meeting.

Source: https://x.com/kickoffmagazine/status/2114688702819512563?s=46