Apart from being involved in the Absa Premiership and the upcoming Nedbank Cup, the Urban Warriors will also be making a foray into Africa as they take part in the CAF Confederation Cup, the same competition in which Bidvest Wits will compete.
Ajax’s continental campaign starts on the weekend of February 12-14, and then again on February 26-28, when they take on Sagrada Esperança of Angola in a home and away preliminary round tie.
“We had to prepare pretty well because we’ve got a gruelling couple of months ahead, right up until May,” De Sa told the Ajax website.
“We’ve got a lot of games to catch up, and if things go our way and if we have a bit of a Nedbank Cup run and a bit of a African cup run as well, it’s going to be even more difficult. So in preparation for that we came back a bit earlier.”
The Ajax mentor can also look forward to the return of a couple of players from injury, the likes of Tashreeq Morris, Brandon Petersen and Ruzaigh Gamildien expected to be back in the mix soon.
“We don’t have the biggest squad. Tashreeq Morris and Brandon Petersen coming back does fill a few gaps, but apart from that we are going to rely on our 25 senior players week in, week out. We had a chat about it and looked at the fixtures, and everyone is aware of the gruelling task ahead of us,” De Sa continued.
“Out of all 25, I think you will find everyone contributing in some way or another, and in quite a big way, not just a game here or there. But I think it will be not just a massive team effort, but a squad effort.”
Source: African News Agency (ANA)
