City registered only their second victory in 2018 when they beat Bloemfontein Celtic 2-0 away from home last week, a result which saw them moving up from 15th place to 11th, with seven matches left in their campaign.
Before the victory over Celtic, Rise and Shine had drawn six matches in a row, but they finally got the result they were looking for and are now hoping to build on that much-needed victory.
“The result against Celtic did not come easy because we had been drawing so many matches, so we had to grind out the result. It was team work. We had to wait patiently for that result to come. It came at the right time,” Manaka says.
“We have not been thinking about relegation. We want to build from that result and want to keep playing because the mood is positive and now we believe we can finish in the top eight. That has been our mandate.”
City have to be even better than they were against Celtic to overcome in-form side Maritzburg United at Harry Gwala Stadium on Friday.
“We are going to give them the respect they deserve. They have done well for themselves this season.
“We need to give it our all. There are no individuals in their team, they are a collective, which makes them dangerous. They are a hard-running team like us. We are going there to fight for three points.”