Cape Town Spurs coach Shaun Bartlett has high hopes for his newly promoted side as they return to the DStv Premiership this weekend, starting away against TS Galaxy at the Mbombela Stadium on Sunday.
He spoke to SuperSport.com on Wednesday as the club unveiled their squad for the season:
What are the targets for this season?
“To end as high as possible. You know, I've said it before, as a player, I was always competitive and as a coach nothing's going to change. I know, obviously people think that we might be lingering at the bottom. But I think the success we had last season we can carry over to this season. Always believe that the start will give you a good foundation. And we've got to make sure, obviously, we have a good start against Galaxy on Sunday
Are you happy that you've done enough recruiting, it looks like you a bit thin
“I've always said, don't go and sign because you have to sign. If you have enough players in your squad that can do the job, there's no need to. The same thing goes for why you want to change things that are not broken. So for me, it doesn't matter. We’ve kept continuity. Even the break that we had, I think, was long enough. We might have only had two weeks’ holiday, but it's a plus for us because we didn't have to do much with regards to the fitness. The pre-season has been really good. I've been happy. The games we played, the performances are a good indication as to how we're moving forward.”
Would you have preferred a home game for your first league fixture this weekend?
“Nah. We always say the home team will have the pressure. So the first game, the pressure will be on Galaxy. They had a lot of draws last season and they need to come up with the performance from the beginning to please their bosses. We go there with the intention of getting the points.”
And you go up against a former club because you coached at Galaxy previously
“If you're going ask me that question, there's going to be a few clubs, that I played for previously and where I coach. For me, nothing is personal. It's about preparing players in the right way, going there to perform and getting the points you know.”
What about the bitter rivalry between the owners of Spurs and Cape Town City?
“I've got nothing to do with that. I'm coaching a team of players that must go and produce results. What happens off the field is not for me to decide to?”
But what about the derby against them, how big is it?
“Obviously to have a derby is great, you know, it's about being the pride of the town, of the province, whichever way you want to put it. But for us is to get the results. You know, you can do all the marketing in the world it won't help you win games. It's about training your players the right way and making sure they perform on the field. And obviously, that is what we're going to do against Cape Town City, against Stellenbosch, against any team that comes to Cape Town.