Chiefs spin doctor Putco Mafani got into trouble with an animal rights groups following his public statement that the Naturena side would "skin Black Leopards alive" but he did not hesitate to echo the same sentiment on Wednesday ahead of the SAA Supa 8 quarterfinal against the Limpopo side.

Mafani said the animal rights lobby groups had taken his statements too seriously and out of context while in actual fact what he implied was that Leopards would be given a good hiding by the league champions in the season-opening Telkom Charity Cup tournament.

“Some lady at SPCA did not understand the language we use in football and threatened to send the Scorpions to the Village to arrest me because I spoke about the skinning of the animal alive,” said Mafani. “I think they did not understand the poetry, and I must repeat that for the benefit of the people at SPCA, when we say we are going to skin Black Leopards alive, that’s poetic but it must happen.”

On that occasion, the Glamour Boys handed Shakes Mashaba’s men a 2-0 defeat with John Moshoeu and PSL Player of the Season Tinashe Nengomasha providing the goals. Chiefs went on to lose 5-4 on penalties against bitter rivals Sundowns in the final.

It was their second off-season cup defeat following a similar outcome in the Vodacom Challenge. But Mafani believes that his side has recovered well and that Leopards would merely serve as a springboard to their domestic cup campaign. “We have a lot of things to rectify,” said Mafani.

Indeed Amakhosi have a lot of things to rectify, particularly in this competition. Last season they failed to progress beyond the first round with a 2-0 defeat against Wits University, their unfashionable nemesis. This time they were happy to avoid big names like Pirates, Swallows and SuperSport United in the first round.

“We have no injuries and no excuses. Bevan Fransman, who was the only injured player, has fully recovered and is training with the rest of the squad. We have had pretty much good preparation for the SAA Supa 8. This is the only competition that really gets you into gear for the start of the season.

“The squad has gelled well thanks to preparations we had in the previous two competitions where we lost in the lotto of penalties. In those games, including our opening league match against Dynamos, we played as a unit. We have also displayed through Collins Mbesuma that we are beginning to find answers to our problems up front,” said Mafani.

An assertion that Amakhosi are as good as in the semifinal could turn out to be their worst enemy and they will do well to throw caution to the wind as Leopards are walking wounded.

Lidoda Duvha have two defeats - from last season - in mind to avenge, 5-1 in the opening league match last season and them 3-1 in the second round match, shortly after Mashaba had taken over as coach and then the 2-0 defeat in the Charity Cup.

“Moroka Swallows are on song and they are waiting for us in the semifinals. I cannot say SuperSport United are on song. I was at their game and it could have gone either way,” said Mafani.

Leopards will hope that lighting does not strike at the same place twice as their game is at the same venue, Soccer City, where they lost 2-0 to Chiefs three weeks ago.

“Sometimes you can play and game and lose but still be proud of your performance,” said Leopards communications manager Chief Thidiela. “On that particular occasion we had enough opportunities but could not put the ball in the back of the net but we were impressed with the overall performance.

“We are on the right track and come Saturday it will be 11 players against 11 players. Regardless of the reputation of the team, I think all four teams have an equal chance of progressing to the semifinals. And that’s what we’ll be aiming at or even doing better than that by qualifying for the final,” said Thidiela.

“I don’t think any of these players have any point to prove,” said Thidiela. “I think they are very credible players, very talented and if they can just focus, I sure they can do the job on the day. I hope Shakes and the boys will do the talking on the field.”

Elsewhere, Wits University will aim for a big scalp when they host Orlando Pirates in Orkney on Sunday. The Students upset the applecart last season when they booted Chiefs out with a 2-1 victory and they will hope for a similar outcome against the Mighty Bucs.