As I am sure you are all aware Bloemfontein Celtic are almost on the home stretch on what has been a fulfilling and sometimes frustrating campaign. I am overjoyed at our fantastic cup form, winning the Telkom Cup and breaking a long trophy drought as well as advancing to the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup.

The frustrating part has been our league form where we have not been as consistent as I would have liked. I definitely think this season Celtic is still a top five team, with a chance at an historic cup double. But I am not happy with just a top five team status, I want to compete for every trophy including the league and I feel I have the ingredients to realise the team’s potential.

We did lose to a very strong Kaizer Chiefs team on the weekend and while we played well in patches we must take nothing away from them.

We will have to face them in the quarterfinal next weekend but I am very confident our cup form, home ground advantage and fantastic support will carry us into the semifinals.

Chiefs will have half a mind on the league and we have an opportunity make history so this will really be one of the most epic cup clashes seen in Bloemfontein in years.

But I do not want to think too far ahead as we still have two league fixtures before then, two tough encounters against very good sides.

AmaTuks and Maritzburg United have surprised many teams this season and while I am not surprised, as they boast quality line-ups, we will have to be at our best.

I feel we need to win both games to keep our top five aspirations alive and if we can get on a winning run then a top four position is possible.

The matches are coming thick and fast in the coming weeks as the season comes to a thrilling conclusion. Notwithstanding the Nedbank Cup quarterfinal we find ourselves in the unique position of facing all three KwaZulu Natal sides this month, with Maritzburg United, Golden Arrows and AmaZulu our next three league encounters.

That doesn’t come around very often and we will be looking to make it a KwaZulu hat-trick of wins. They are three quality sides but I am confident in my team. We finish the month with a massive clash against Sundowns away from home. With five huge games on the cards this month, starting with the University of Pretoria on Wednesday night this is really a make or break time for the team.

At this stage of the season I am satisfied with the progress of the team with regard to cup form but we will need maximum effort in the league. I hope our supporters will come out in their numbers as they always do, and support the team in this busy period.