Orlando Pirates DStv Diski Challenge coach Joseph Mkhanya wants to silence his critics.
Makhanya said he is aware that people doubted him at the beginning of the season when he was appointed the club's new Diski Challenge coach. He replaced Mandla Qhogi, who helped the club finish in position three last season.
With seven games remaining in the league, the Pirates are within the title race. They are third on the log with 47 points, two adrift of leaders SuperSport United and one behind Cape town City FC who are second.
"It's getting exciting, it's getting exciting but we are dark horses. Nobody gave us a chance when the season started," said Makhanya.
"People were saying the coach is inexperienced but forgetting that I played this game professionally for 14 years. I coached in the grassroots level for almost 10 years, that is where I have been [before joining Pirates]."
Pirates travel to KwaZulu-Natal this weekend, where they will face AmaZulu at Mpumalanga Stadium on Saturday.
Kick-off is at 12:00 CAT.
Makhanya said the Usuthu clash is a must-win for his charges, who have had fluctuating results in their past five matches.
He continued: "We had about four challenging games leading to [Kaizer] Chiefs game. We had SuperSport, which we lost. We had Cape Town City and Stellenbosch – we drew both games, and now we beat Chiefs. In those matches, I am only disappointed that we gave SuperSport points.
"AmaZulu took points away from us in the first round and now we cannot lose to AmaZulu. We need to beat AmaZulu and that will give us a better fighting chance for the title. It is not all done, we just need to be more consistent in the remaining seven games."