Chiefs to target City’s defence
Chiefs to target City’s defence
Posted: 2009-07-21 12:22
Kaizer Chiefs’ new head coach Vladimir Vermezovic has a chance to emulate Orlando Pirates’ victory against visiting Manchester City tonight if he can capitalise on the visitors’ openly-stated weakness, their defence.
Mark Hughes is on record as saying that he is waiting to improve on City’s defence, but is also willing to wait for the right deal as he looks to put the finishing touches to his squad.
City were among the first clubs to enter the transfer market this summer when they swooped to sign Gareth Barry from Aston Villa, and have since completed deals to bring forwards Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz to the club.
But Hughes’s attempts to improve the back-line have so far been met with frustration as Chelsea insist John Terry is not for sale and Everton have rejected an opening offer for Joleon Lescott.
While Hughes admits he wants deals done as soon as possible, he will not rush unnecessarily.
“We want to strengthen our defence, but we are prepared to wait. It is all about giving the deal the opportunity to develop. We will concentrate on what we are doing here [in South Africa] first,” he says.
City’s pursuit of Terry – a move which once again demonstrates the huge ambition of the Eastlands club – is being played out in public, much to the frustration of Hughes, who has rejected the notion that the club are in any way guilty of tapping up the England captain.
“We made a bid for John, but we tried to keep it under the radar,” Hughes said. “Chelsea allowed the bid to enter the public domain and ever since I have been answering questions on the matter. There was no issue that needed to be raised.”
Vermezovic, meanwhile, has said that the game against City will be a huge test for his players.
“It is a huge game for the players, but I’m happy with them both from the psychological and physical point of view,” he says. “There is always a pressure from the fans for the team to do well. For the technical team it is another opportunity to have a look at players and intensify our preparations for the upcoming season.
“We are taking it one game at a time. Some people are already talking about Thursday’s encounter against Orlando Pirates, but our focus now is on Manchester City.”
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