Allan Freese, the Platinum Stars coach, insists they cannot ignore the danger posed by Bidvest Wits attack when they meet in the MTN8 first-leg semi-final tie on Sunday.

The two clubs clash at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg on Sunday, before meeting again in the second leg at the Bidvest Stadium on September 24. Reward for the winner will be an October final against either Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates.

The Students have been transformed from being just any regular South African club over the past 18 months to one of the top guns due to heavy investment by their owners.

After some major signings like Tinashe Nengomasha last year, they have recruited several household names already in 2013/14 – the biggest arguably being Gavin Hunt, one of the country’s best coaches.

“Bringing in Gavin alone was massive for them,” new Dikwena boss Freese told PSL.co.za. “He is someone who has achieved a lot in South African football, he’s won many leagues and cups and I respect what he’s done.

“So they are a changed team. They have quite a few dangerous players too, the ones I can pick out are the new Ethiopia striker (Getaneh Kebede) and Benjani (Mwaruwari), who has a lot of experience.

“They are two I am mentioning, but we cannot be ignorant to the fact that they have so many quality players within their squad.”

Other big names recruited by the Johannesburg club are experienced quartet Moeneeb Josephs, Onismor Bhasera, Musa Bilankulu and Matthew Booth,

Freese, club assistant last season, is himself aiming to build a dynasty of his own in the North West. And the foundations have been firmly laid by his predecessor Cavin Johnson, who guided Stars to a remarkable second-place league finish last year.

The new man does not plan to change too much, saying all the signs are there for another strong campaign ahead.

“The players are aware that only two guys have been lost,” he says. “So why should things change because everyone else is still here?

“The team knows that and even though I’m the new coach here, not much has or will be changed. One or maybe two things may change, but that’s it.

“Why change a something that was working so well? It brought us a certain amount of success, so there’s no point changing a winning formula.

“So my main job is to look after the squad, play them and motivate them to do the best they can do, which is at least matching what they did last year.”

Stars won their opening match of the competition 3-0 against Free State Stars, while Bidvest Wits crushed Bloemfontein Celtic by the same margin.

Freese believes it will be a tight contest, but believes his side has the slight advantage because of playing at home first.

“I think it’s a good thing that we’re at home first and if we can produce the right result, it will ease the pressure on us for the away leg,” he adds. “So you prepare how you want to play at home in the first instance. Depending on the outcome, then you plan for the away leg.

“Remember that things like away goals also count, so a lot will depend on how the first game goes.”
Source: http://www.psl.co.za