Although the team started the new soccer season on a poor note, Black Leopards chairman Mr Tshifhiwa Thidiela is adamant that Lidoda Duvha will be among the top three teams at the end of the Motsepe Foundation Championship season.
In an interview on Tuesday evening, Thidiela said all was not lost, even though the team was at the bottom of the log with two points from five outings.
Leopards played their first four matches with a skeletal squad after a transfer ban was imposed on the club by world football's governing body, FIFA, a day before their opening league match of the season against Casric Stars at Thohoyandou Stadium on Saturday, 23 August. Leopards played that entire game with 10 players because of the ban.
The ban was lifted last Friday. Thidiela revealed that the players were not mentally ready for their home game against Highbury FC when they received the good news from FIFA. He said he was not surprised by the team's performance and the 1-0 loss. He was confident that the players are now in the right frame of mind and ready to absorb the pressure in their next league game against Kruger United at Thohoyandou Stadium next Saturday, 18 October.
Thidiela said the race for the league title was still open, with 25 matches remaining before the end of the season. He stressed that it was not how a team started that mattered, but how it finished. He added that their aim was to win the next three matches and restore the team's lost pride.
Leopards' next three fixtures are Kruger United (home), Milford FC (away) and Midlands Wanderers (home). Thidiela further said the club had arranged several friendly matches during the FIFA break, so the technical team could find a winning combination. According to him, their new Zimbabwean international, Juan Adrian Mutudza, will be available for selection in the game against Kruger United. Mutudza watched last Saturday's match from the grandstand, pending a work permit.