Rosslee welcomes league recess
AmaZulu coach Craig Rosslee believes the break in Premiership action during the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in January will be a welcome preparation phase for the rest of their league campaign.
Rosslee, who was appointed on November 30, suffered his first loss in charge of bottom-feeders Usuthu on Tuesday.
"For us it will be a blessing," Rosslee said following Tuesday's defeat.
"It will give us five weeks to prepare, it will be like a pre-season for me.
"The five weeks will be great and if I get everything across and the players are open-minded about what I'm looking for, we'll do well."
Table-topping Kaizer Chiefs beat the coastal outfit 2-0 in a Premiership clash at the FNB Stadium.
A goal in either half from Matthew Rusike and Bernard Parker handed Amakhosi a comfortable victory, but Rosslee said he was pleased with the way his players performed.
"The team followed their instructions for the first 35 minutes," Rosslee said.
"We were nice and organised, we were compact and we restricted Chiefs' game pattern.
"Unfortunately, a mistake at the back led to the opening goal. We did well to come back and made a game of it in the second half as well.
"Another mistake led to the second, but it was a great goal by Parker."
Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter introduced Parker in the 58th minute, replacing Rusike, who picked up a knock to his ankle, bringing an end to the youngster's solid first half display.
Baxter's decision to bring on Parker was rewarded eight minutes from time, when the league's top-scorer extended his tally to nine for the season, with a pinpoint curled effort from outside of AmaZulu's area.
Shifting his attention to the transfer window in the new year, Rosslee admitted he would be looking for a number of new signings to help the club out of last position in the league standings.
"I'll be looking for someone up front and also at the back," he said.
"Before I came to AmaZulu, the team didn't buy well...the fact of the matter is that we'll have to bolster the squad to improve our log position.
"In the squad we've got, there are one or two issues with players and strikers that have come in and not delivered."
Meanwhile, Baxter said he was pleased with the victory but believed the Soweto giants put in a poor performance.
"I'm obviously pleased with three points, it was very important for us, and the second goal from Bernard was quality," Baxter said.
"I've never seen our passing as poor as that.
"If that's pressure from the opponents or if that's from unforced errors I don't know."
In Tuesday's only other fixture, the University of Pretoria continued their impressive Premiership showing with a 1-1 draw with Maritzburg United at the Harry Gwala Stadium.
