Thanda Royal Zulu coach Roger Sikhakahane insists he is not worried about the NFD leaders' dip in form. Amabhubesi have won once in five outings since the league resumed in February, but are still eight points clear of closest rivals Black Leopards with 10 games left. Thanda beat Mbombela United, drew with Witbank Spurs, AmaZulu and Mthatha Bucks, and suffered their first loss of the season to University of Pretoria. "I think out of five games we only won one and we drew three," says Sikhakhane, who has taken the team from relegation candidates to promotion favourites after just over a year in charge. "It is a bad result if you look at the team who is sitting on top of the log table. But when you look at the opponents that we played, it's not that bad. "We are not a little bit worried because we are still maintaining our position there [at the top]. "We are not dropping everything. So we dropped two points in the other games but we walked away with one point, one point counts."

Meanwhile, the former Chippa United coach explained why he started Golden Boot contender Mhlengi Cele and Khotso Malope on the bench against Bucks last weekend. Cele scored his 15th goal in the 1-1 stalemate. "They started the last match [against AmaTuks] and they struggled a bit so we said no, they shouldn't start," adds Sikhakhane. "Even the players who started the game they are good players. But it was so unfortunate that we conceded the goal in the first half. "The other game also they started off the bench. The game against AmaZulu, Mhlengi came on from the bench and scored two goals. He came from the bench this past weekend and scored another goal, so for us tactically we are fine."