Chiefs are currently in Port Elizabeth, where they have decided to host Zanzibarian outfit Zimamoto upon their return to the continental stage.
Amakhosi will be reeling from their defeat on the weekend to arch-rivals Orlando Pirates as they were eliminated from the Telkom Knockout semi-final, subsequently stretching their trophyless run, at least, until May next year.
However, they now turn their attention to a new competition in the second-tier CAF club showpiece, in which they face a little-known side that have only recently begun journeying the continent.
Mphahlele has insisted they have put Saturday’s failure and sorrow behind them, with the support of all at the club.
“We are footballers. We know that what happened on the weekend was a setback for us, but we took some positives from it,” ‘Rama’ told the media in PE.
“We’re still hurting and we’re disappointed that we lost the game. We wanted to win and go to the final, but we have to recover.
“We can’t stay there [in a downcast state] forever, and everybody at the club is doing their best to encourage and keep us going.”
The Bafana Bafana international has also emphasised that the season is still long and thus the players need to quickly pick themselves up and look to what still lies ahead.
“We still have too many games to play and, like I’ve said, we’re disappointed but we can’t stay down forever,” he added.
“We have to dust ourselves [off] and look to the next game and try and do well, and the only medicine to try and maybe heal the wound that we have is to win the next game.
“We have to just keep on going. We played a very good Orlando Pirates team and we tried our best, but unfortunately the lapses of concentrations here and there cost us the game.
“But, yeah, we’ve recovered from that and we’re looking forward to the next game. We can’t stay in the past; we’re looking to the future.”