Magesi have won three of their last five matches, and what seemed like an impossible situation has been given a boost of hope since Owen da Gama took over. They are now just three points behind eleventh-placed Golden Arrows.

Chiefs' coach has expressed his frustration at the lack of reward his side has received, especially after their good showing against Sundowns this weekend, where their 1-0 defeat marked their third consecutive loss in all competitions against the Pretoria giants.

“I felt frustrated for the players and the fans because I felt like we had a strong performance that could have given us something better than what we got. But that is the nature of football, and we have to accept it.

“There was a bit of bad luck to lose that game with the performance we had.”

The 59-year-old added that there have been a lot of positives from his side in their recent performances and that their current league position does not tell the full story.

“I would like to apologize to the fans for our current position on the log, even though it doesn’t reflect the performances we have been putting in. We are working very hard and want to assure them that our position is only temporary.

“We are pretty sure we will finish the league much higher than we are currently because we can see the improvements among the players in these big games, as well as the character they have.”

Chiefs will be without new signing Tashreeq Morris, who suffered an injury in the loss against Sundowns over the weekend.

Morris has immediately become a central figure in the Amakhosi setup, and Nabi has been impressed by the 30-year-old’s versatility and contributions to the team so far. He believes Morris’s absence disrupted their game plan on Saturday.

“(His injury) hurt us a lot because he is a striker who can give you a lot of things; he is a good presser and does not give defenders any rest. But after he came off, we saw that the center-backs were comfortable with the ball all the time.

“He can hold the ball and give your team time to move up and take positions to attack. He is also someone who can capitalize on crosses coming into the box because of his presence. His absence impacted our game against Sundowns.”