Free State Stars head coach Themba Sithole says he is not under any pressure to achieve promotion back to the Absa Premiership within one season of being relegated.
The new-look Ea Lla Koto will play their first match in the GladAfrica Championship this weekend.
With the monthly PSL grant in the first division far less than what is received in the top flight, it was always going to be difficult for the club to keep some of its top players.
"As you know, we are a new team, I mean it's a new team, unknown, so whatever you want to see you will see on the field [laughs]," Sithole tells snl24.com/kickoff.
"We are a new team so to tell you the truth, all we need is just to get stability in the first division for now and then we'll see how far it takes us. All it's new players we don't have names, we don't have big names, we don't have have anything.
"So our task now is to make sure we gain some stability in the league and then after that we'll see where we are going."
Sithole was asked if he felt the pressure of having to take the team back to the Absa Premiership.
"No, no, no, not at all. We need to make sure that we get some stability, we get our players to gain more experience in this league, to adjust to the league and all that, and again you need to respect the likes of Royal Eagles, people that have been campaigning there.
"So we are newcomers and we'll see how it goes. As a coach I do mind, you know every coach when you go onto the pitch you want to win things. I would love to [win promotion] but I'm just trying to be realistic because we've got teams that have been down there for a long time and they've got experience, so we will see how it goes."