Amazulu Is Still Targeting a Second Place Finish in DStv Premiership According to Coach Brandon Truter

• Amazulu interim coach Brandon Truter is looking to finish as high as second place in the DStv Premiership
• The Usuthu mentor has had a very good start to life in KwaZulu-Natal, where his team gained six points from the first two matches under his tutelage
• Amazulu is unlikely to catch Royal AM, which sits almost comfortably behind champions-in-waiting Mamelodi Sundowns

It seems highly unlikely, but Amazulu is still targeting a runners-up finish in the DStv Premiership.

This is the aim of interim coach Brandon Truter following the bright start he has made at the Durban-based side. Usuthu defeated both Baroka FC and Maritzburg United 1-0 respectively since the sacking of Benni McCarthy at the beginning of April.

With Mamelodi Sundowns having both hands on the trophy, the most anyone else can hope for is finishing in second place. Royal AM current sits there with 44 points, with the ambitious Amazulu a further nine points behind in 7th place.

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With this in mind, Truter told TimesLIVE:

“I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn’t back myself and also doing research and knowing AmaZulu with the quality of players available. I had no doubt the mandate [to finish in the top four] will be reached.

"I feel confident about reaching that mandate and even confident about maybe qualifying for the Champions League again by ending second.”

There are currently five matches left in the season, with Amazulu facing the daunting task of trying to collect 15 points from matches Royal AM, Swallows FC, Sekhukhune United, Cape Town City and Lamontville Golden Arrows.

Truter added:

“So that’s still possible with 15 points to play for. I back my boys. There’s quality throughout this team."

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As was reported by Sports Brief earlier, Brandon Truter was roped in as an emergency interim replacement for the sacked Benni McCarthy at Amazulu following a string of indifferent results and numerous media outbursts.

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The former Swallows FC mentor returned to KwaZulu-Natal after previously being on the books of GladAfrica Championship side Richards Bay and the now-defunct Real Kings FC.

Truter had been inactive since his dismissal at Swallows in November, but believed AmaZulu as an entity has the potential to compete with the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.