
Royal AM coach Khabo Zondo says his side will focus intently on their recovery between games as they prepare for a season of both DStv Premiership and CAF Confederation Cup football.
The recently formed top-flight club exceeded all expectations in their first campaign as they ended in third place, behind league Champions Mamelodi Sundowns and second-placed Cape Town City.
Referencing Kaizer Chiefs’ recent participation in the CAF Champions League, Zondo explained that they cannot chase continental dreams at the expense of their local goals.
Zondo said in the Citizen: “We want to do well in both the CAF and PSL games.
“You must bear in mind that the CAF games tend to be different to what we have here at home.
“If we win (in CAF games) that would be a good thing to happen but if we don’t, that would not be the end of the world. But where we really need to do well is in the PSL where we have to be competitive like we were last season.”
Zondo added: “There are teams who went to the CAF games and when they came back to the local games things didn’t go well for them. That taught us very important lessons.
“One of those teams is Kaizer Chiefs. You can all see how long it has taken them to get back in shape after their CAF campaign. Sundowns do not take long to recover because they are well resourced in terms of quality players.
“That is what we also have to get right in our team. It will not be any good for us to do well on the continent while we cannot get wins at home.”