De Sa has cup glory in mind

Roger de Sa (above) insists Platinum Stars are going all-out for the Telkom Knockout title, as his struggling side prepare to face Maritzburg United in the last-16 at the Harry Gwala Stadium this evening.

Dikwena are yet to win this season, with just four points from nine league games leaving them rock-bottom of the Absa Premiership. They have, however, picked up encouraging draws with Orlando Pirates and Free State Stars in their last couple of matches.

“If we are in the cup, we want to go all the way. You never enter the cup to say let’s just go to the semis or the quarters. That’s what we are here for,” said De Sa yesterday.

“The cup at this stage is not as important as the league is for us, but we are professionals. We want to win every game. A good cup run sometimes also helps your league form. We won’t make drastic changes but we will rest one or two key players we feel are a concern to us. We want to win still. We are not going there to play our second 11 or something like that.”

De Sa should know more than most about Maritzburg, having coached them last season. He joined in January, but left just 72 days later, citing “family commitments” in Cape Town. He has clearly been impressed by what United have achieved this season under Fadlu Davids.

“Maritzburg are an exciting young team with a lot of good players. They are an exciting team to watch,” added the Stars coach.