McCarthy who was away on Thursday in his home town of Vryburg in the North West Province as he was the guest speaker, at a gathering for grade 12 learners from his former high school.

Got straight down to business with his team mates as coach Ernst Middendorp set them through their paces at a training session held at the Varsity College training fields in the Riverside suburb of Durban.

With the Indian Ocean forming a picturesque back drop, The Amakhosi coach along with his assistant Frank Eulberg took the team through a training session in hot and humid conditions.

The same kind of conditions they should expect on Sunday afternoon when Chiefs come up against Moroka Swallows in an SAA Supa8 semi final game at the ABSA Stadium. Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp is looking for a more dynamic and improved performance from his against Swallows, from the one that saw them go down 2-1 in midweek to Bidvest Wits.

Amakhosi midfielder Arthur Zwane who played a lead hand when Chiefs defeated Swallows two years ago in an SAA Supa8 semi final game, is itching to get onto the field and for Chiefs player of the year in 2001 – 2002 Sunday’s game could not come any sooner.

Said Zwane “it is obvious that having beaten them once and four times in cup games since 1996 does give us a head start, but like we did in 2002 – 2003 and twice in 2004- 2005 Swallows can give us a run but we will prevail”.

Arthur is also looking for a pair of unique double victories of Swallows in Cup games, “the venue, the day, the month, and the opposition are all the same as it was when we met Swallows in the 2004 Supa8 semi final, we will endeavour to do our best to ensure that the outcome will be the same”.

Chiefs will complete their preparations for Sunday’s crunch game a day before the game when they put the icing on the last few days of training and planning for Moroka Swallows, with a training session at the ABSA Stadium some time on Saturday.

Ernst Middendorp will use the opportunity to get his team familiar with the pitch as well as the warm conditions that are expected during Sunday’s game.