University of Pretoria coach Tlisane Motaung says his side will rediscover their form in the relegation/promotion play-offs.
Tuks ended their 2023/24 Motsepe Foundation Championship season in second place behind league winners Magesi.
They will now take on third-placed finishers Baroka as well as one of Royal AM or Richards Bay, who currently occupy 14th and 15th respectively in the DStv Premiership, for a place in the South African top-flight for next season.
The University of Pretoria have been struggling for results in recent weeks; drawing their last five matches, following defeat to Magesi.
They secured their place in the playoffs with a 1-1 draw in the last round of matches against Baroka.
Reflecting on his side’s season and their chances of promotion, Motaung insisted he was confident in his side making a return to winning ways.
He said in the Sowetan: “Going into this playoffs, we are not going to be complacent. We know what we need to focus on.
“Players are aware. Our attackers are aware that for us to get promoted, we need to win matches.
“So, we will bounce back and we will work hard. The good thing is from December 19 until now, we tried to keep that second position, which was not easy. If you look at the amount of points that we dropped, it could have been worse.
“At least those draws kept us here and we finished second.”
Motaung added: “We have been following all the teams that are below. I’ve got videos of those teams. I’ve got three for each where I can watch any of them.
“Last week, when Richards Bay played in Polokwane, I drove there to watch them. From a planning point of view, we know. If we were to be given Richards Bay, we know what to expect and whoever.
“We’ve done our homework and we are not going to start from scratch. The only thing is passing the message to the players in terms of paying attention to details and how we are going to approach those games. In terms of planning, I think we are sorted.”