Motaung's stern warning to Stuart Baxter: ‘Leave our players alone’

19 February 2016 - 02:56 By Tshepang Mailwane

Kaizer Chiefs midfielder George Maluleka says Amakhosi players will have to put emotions aside when they face former mentor Stuart Baxter - now at the helm of SuperSport United - in Cape Town on Saturday evening.Maluleka is one of the players given a chance to shine by Baxter last season when the likes of Siphiwe Tshabalala and Bernard Parker were out nursing injuries and he grabbed the opportunity.Maluleka has started in eight of the 16 league appearances he has made this season but has not turned on the magic for Steve Komphela in midfield like he did when Baxter was in charge."We need to put our emotions aside and focus on our football. We have been inconsistent this season and that's why we are where we are," said Maluleka ahead of the match against his former club at Cape Town Stadium.Fourth-placed Chiefs, who until recently could not even win two matches on the trot, will be looking for their fourth straight victory, but they need to concentrate for the entire 90 minutes to avoid a similar upset to the one against Platinum Stars in Cape Town last month.Chiefs lost 2-1 to Dikwena after taking the lead. However, Maluleka is confident the support in the Mother City will spur the hosts on.Komphela, who is looking forward to a battle with Baxter, has been impressed by his team's run of three straight victories, but he's far from satisfied."The only thing we appreciate is that we have been more consistent in winning," said Komphela."There was a stage when we would win and draw and win and draw. It was not coming up nicely and it left us slightly behind. These wins have assisted and we would like to keep it that way. The more you win, the better you get and the more confident you get. We rectified our mistakes, which is good."He added: "Stuart and I are good friends, but obviously that goes out the window (on match day)."Chiefs manager Bobby Motaung on Thursday said the club had agreed in principle to renew the contract of midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane.Motaung issued a stern warning to Baxter and asked the Briton to leave Amakhosi players alone.Baxter recently said he would only be interested in signing Chiefs players if they were available."We have been reading in the media about Stuart Baxter's comments on Chiefs' players," he said."The only thing I can say to Stuart is that Kaizer Chiefs [are] here in Naturena. He found the players here, he left them here, so he must start a new SuperSport chapter. With due respect, he must talk about SuperSport players."..

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