Six wins in a row in all competitions will be a first for Komphela in his time at Chiefs and that sixth victory will have to come at the expense of their biggest rivals Orlando Pirates in the biggest fixture in domestic football, which will be played out at FNB Stadium today (15h30).
“As Chiefs we always play attacking football, we want to leave our people with a sweet taste, try be exciting when going forward but obviously naturally in a game the ball changes hands,” says Komphela aware of the challenges.
“As the opponents gets it how then do you shape up? It is going to be very important so we try to make it exciting. We would like to see a derby with five or whatever but clearly also complement must be given to defensive organisation and shape. You can want to attack how hard but if the other team is very organised defensively then it is a challenge.
“The only problem that I would have is a scenario were like in group stages when two teams have qualified for the next round and all they need is just a draw and then you find one team in that half and then possession, possession and not coming. If ball lost then possession, possession. No, no, there has to be confrontation because it is a mini-war but that war must be meaningful. That is my take on it,” he reasons.
Though the five-game winning streak has brought Chiefs the comfort of contesting the summit early on, there remains plenty of snares in their path on this marathon.
Komphela understands that all too well.
“The biggest challenge with professional people is to stay focused and yes we listen to what is being said. As you are listening you must also hear what is not being said. So what normally happens is that you will get a lot of submissions, you do listen to them but what is more important is what you hear from those.
“We played the first match of the league and we lost unfortunately, in whatever circumstances. There and then there were remarks that we are gunning for relegation, after match number one. We have played seven matches and there is also a different vibe. If maybe we were left with seven matches before end of the season that analogy would still not be proper. So the pressure is there...
“One person once spoke of horizontality and verticality and I was saying what is that. Things have gone to a stage where even Itu (Khune), Happy (Jele) and the coach (Muhsin Ertugral) they are more at the same level as compared to the past. In the past you would find the coach on top and the players coming just below but we are now on the same level.
“Managing such processes is very difficult because you must also seek opinion whilst moving on with authority and if you seek opinion… move on with authority whilst consulting. If you don’t then it means you didn’t listen. If you listen, you didn’t take a decision so which is which,” he lectures.
In team news, Chiefs are without goalkeepers Luthando Sixhaso and Brylon Petersen as they both recover from surgery, while Zambian striker Lewis Macha faces a late fitness test.