I can see light now, says Ertugral

Kaizer Chiefs coach Muhsin Ertugral is not in the market to beef up his squad during the January transfer window.

Speaking after Amakhosi had defeated Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 in a tense Premiership match in front of a capacity crowd of 34 000 at the Johannesburg Stadium on Sunday, Ertugral poured cold water on reports linking Sundowns winger Josta Dladla with his club.

"I can see light now that we are getting our injured players back into action. My only signing in January, Abia Nale, was brilliant, and I do not see the need to bring in more players," he said. "If a player of Dladla's quality was available, I would obviously be interested. But for the moment I believe it is only right to keep faith in my squad."

Dladla was well below his best; in fact, he had a poor match. He was possibly negatively affected by all the publicity and hype surrounding him.

On the big win over Sundowns, Ertugral said he was not a gambler, but he had played the right cards against the Premiership's big spenders by using a 4-3-3 formation that proved successful.

Worried about his side's performances leading up to the match, he brought in Nale, whom he had signed from Golden Arrows, to strengthen the attack and surprised most punters by blooding 20-year-old Wayne Matle at right back in place of skipper Jimmy Tau.

Ertugral said Nale would continue in a free role behind strikers Jose Torrealba and Zito Ogbonna.

"Nale is a quality player. I have been after him for a while now. I saw his potential and on debut today he was superb. He was unlucky not to score. But he has to keep his feet on the ground, he is still not the finished article. He still has to work hard to fulfil his potential, but I have no doubt he will be do that," the delighted Chiefs coach stated.

Nale laid on the cross which Nigerian Ogbonna headed home in the 80th minute to give Chiefs their deserved victory.

Ertugral said choosing Matle to make his Premiership debut in a big match against Downs had not been a gamble.

"Matle is a young full back who is full of potential. He was a bit nervous initially, but he settled down well after 30 minutes or so. He is a player for the future."

He added: "I played him against Downs because I knew he was ready - and he proved me right."

But the Turkish-born coach was not getting carried away with the result when asked if it represented the turning point for Chiefs. "It was a fantastic result and one which we deserved, but there is still a long, long way to go. We are only at the halfway mark now. Teams like Ajax Cape Town and SuperSport United are still setting the pace. But anybody can beat anybody in this league.

"I am happy to come from behind and challenge for the title. I am happy to be in fifth or sixth place at this stage of the season as it is still early days."

Nale said he enjoyed his Premiership debut. "I was a little under pressure in the first half, but the coach told me at halftime to relax, which I did and I was able to focus on my game."

He added: "I knew this match would attract a full house and I was not surprised. I loved the atmosphere and look forward to playing in more of these types of games for Chiefs."

Amakhosi are away to unpredictable Thanda Royal Zulu on Sunday. "This is the kind of game in which we need to be careful, especially after such a big win. We cannot afford to be complacent," Ertugral said. - Sapa