Resurgent Ajax on the brink of completing miraculous recovery and ending year in the top eight

Ajax Cape Town could potentially end a troubled year with a place in the top eight of the Premier Soccer League as they prepare to welcome Chippa United to the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday night.

Victory would be a continuation of their excellent recovery under Dutch coach Stanley Menzo‚ who has masterminded four wins in their last five matches to move the club from the bottom of the table to the brink of the top half.

Their latest success was a comprehensive 3-0 win at Bloemfontein Celtic on Saturday where they rode their luck at times‚ but put in their most clinical performance in front of goal of the season.

It was also their third clean-sheet in four games‚ a massive change from earlier in the season when they looked likely to concede at every turn.

What will be pleasing for Ajax club bosses too is that through this fine run‚ Menzo has been able to blood youngsters for the side with good effect.

Chief among these is 18-year-old Grant Margeman‚ a diminutive but forceful midfielder who looks as though he could be the next ‘big thing’ to come out of the club‚ a thought shared by Menzo.

“Grant knows what is expected of him‚" Menzo said.

"He’s improving with every game and is becoming a very important player in the team.”

Forward Masilake Phohlongo‚ 19‚ also came off the bench against Celtic to good effect and could be in line for a run against Chippa.

National Under-20 star Shane Saralina is another who has played recently and is now back from duty with Amajita.

Menzo may also provide a debut for new signing Rheece Evans‚ captured on an 18-month loan from Mamelodi Sundowns last week‚ which would allow Erwin Isaacs to leave the right-back position and return to a more advanced role.

The Dutch coach has got a positive reaction out of the same squad that laboured under former coach Roger de Sa‚ and says he has been thrilled with the way the team has bought into his ideas and the structure he wants them to play.

“I am very satisfied with the performance‚ the way they [the players] accept things‚ the way they try to do things we want them to do‚” he said.

Ajax have only claimed nine league wins in 2016 but four of those have come in the last month.

Chippa are a point ahead of Ajax on the table and have top eight ambitions of their own‚ but have been woefully inconsistent after a good start to the campaign.

They were comprehensive in their 2-0 home win over Highlands Park last time out‚ but have not managed back-to-back victories in the league so far this season.

They have also not won away since humbling Baroka FC 4-1 in Limpopo in September‚ scoring just a single goal in their next five matches on the road.

“It has been a bit of a testing campaign‚ a challenging one‚ but we have set ourselves priorities‚” Malesela told reporters after the Highlands Park victory.

“We now find ourselves on the other side of the log.

"The priority should be to move away from the bottom‚ not to think about chasing targets or about a position.

“We have had a slight change to our approach because in the beginning we were a bit confident that we would probably glide with the league.

"Now we have found ourselves in a bit of a slump‚ so we must look at where we are and what is reasonable.”

The club did receive a boost this week when they announced that influential midfielder Thami Sangweni and striker Rhulani Manzini had had signed new three-year contracts.

- TMG Digital