Kaizer Chiefs focus on consistency over revenge ahead of Polokwane City clash

REVENGE might be a dish best served cold but Miguel Inacio says Kaizer Chiefs have long put their defeat by Polokwane City behind them and Amakhosi will thus not be trotting on to the FNB Stadium pitch with vengeance on their mind.

Chiefs’ failure to qualify for the top eight a second season running had much to do with the goalless draw they played against the team from the Limpopo capital and many are of the view it is time to get even.

“It's not a revenge game for us,” the Chiefs skipper told the media during the club’s open day in Naturena on Tuesday. “We just have to do our best to win the match. Last season we were not at our best but now that we’ve started this season we are confident.”

He agrees it will not be easy against a City side that has already been beaten by Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 and were held to a goalless draw by their hometown rivals Magesi FC in their Betway Premiership opener.

“It’s going to be a tough game but we are playing at home and we have to do what we can to put our ideas to action. It will be a good game and hopefully we can come out with a win,” said Inacio.

Now officially the captain of Chiefs, the well-travelled defender reiterated his stance that opening the 2025/26 campaign with a victory – a 2-0 defeat of 10-man Stellenbosch FC – was the best thing they could have done for themselves.

“It was an important win,” he said “Starting the league with a win is always good to give us the positive mood for the season but we need to go on and keep doing the right things.”

Such was the wretched nature of Chiefs' previous campaign they struggled to string together successive wins and thus beating Polokwane City on Wednesday night would surely give them impetus for this current one.

Though intent on helping the team shine much brighter than they did last time around, Inacio is a wily old campaigner who knows not to raise anyone’s expectations unduly.

“Of course, we can state that we always do well against Stellenbosch so we must focus on the next game. I think the team understands that already. We know that what was lacking last season was consistency so that’s the biggest challenge we have this season,” said Inacio.

"And I think we have already shown that we can do better because we have a clean sheet (from the opening match). Last season we conceded 2-1 against Marumo, so there’s already a difference.

"The challenge is to try and win not just two matches (in a row) but three or four or five. And that’s what we want to try to do this season and I think we are capable of doing it.”

He has warned against the Amakhosi faithful having too many expectations on the club.

"Expectations are dangerous. They can create a lot of things in your mind. So, I think you have to live in the moment; you have to enjoy the moment. Last season when I arrived there were a lot of expectations about what we can achieve; about what we can do.

"l think we had good achievements but there were also some bad moments. So, for this season, I will live game by game and try to do my best. Every training and every game I will try to focus on today and not what can happen next week.

"The big difference will be to go game by game without a lot of expectations; not thinking of what we can achieve because thinking only about the next game will be easy for everybody.”