Monday heralded a new start for me and the players at Chiefs, as we had our first get together to talk about and plan for the season ahead. I have learned my lessons from last season and have decided to start off our preparations for the new season well in advance, as we need to get this campaign off on the correct note.

The players well rested all returned for the pre season and we had a team meeting about our pre season and discussed our training programme as well as the games we will be playing over the next month. Furthermore we used Monday’s meeting as an orientation session for some of our new players, the likes of Siyabonga Nkosi and Papi Zothwane were introduced to the rest of the team. Shaun Bartlett was unable to be here as he was busy taking care of some personal matters. Over the next month the team will get to know each other better as we travel around the country on our pre-season camp.

Our aim is to build an unbreakable spirit up front within the team and take the close camaraderie that is built within the team and use it for our advantage as we hope to improve on last season. In the upcoming season we need to improve on whatever we achieved in the last term - so we won the ABSA Cup and finished third in the league in 2005-2006.

What does that mean for us going ahead? The equation is simple we need to retain our ABSA Cup Crown and win the league as well as pick up the Coca Cola Cup or the SAA Supa8 in addition to this. Anything less than two or three trophies this season means that we have actually gone backwards and have not advanced. With thorough preparation from the onset I am confident that we will be successful this season.

The new players who have joined us are not a closed book to me. I have kept abreast of the progress of both Zothwane and Nkosi through the course of the season. With regards to Shaun Bartlett, I am well aware of his abilities and what he is capable of.

Shaun was playing in England this past season and it was just as easy to track how he fared, there is a lot riding on him and I know that he is aware of this. Looking ahead to the new season I personally feel better equipped as I have a better understanding of the PSL and the teams as well as in depth analysis of our opponents. Most importantly though I know the resources I have available at my disposal and we know how to work with what we have.

Overall I am optimistic with the way things are looking ahead of our preseason campaign and I am happy that we have tough opposition in the weeks ahead and there will be a lot for us to prove. I am also happy with the improvements that have been made to the squad. We are still looking to strengthen our team in certain areas, my assistant Frank Eulberg returns on Tuesday and we will spend most of the day planning the next couple of weeks. Our goalkeeper coach will be here at the end of the month and once he comes the technical staff compliment will be complete and the real preparation will begin.

As our pre-season campaign develops and as we get closer to the games I will keep you updated with all the necessary developments.

Yours in the FIFA World Cup, Ernst Middendorp