DURBAN, May 05 (Absa Premier League) - Johan Eriksson has issued a rallying cry to his Thanda Royal Zulu team ahead of their must-win game against Platinum Stars in Durban on Wednesday.
The Amabhubesi face the prospect of a relegation play-off if they fail to win at the SJ Smith Stadium and Bloemfontein Celtic manage victory against Bay United at Vodacom Park.
With Umlilo already relegated, Phunya Sele Sele (30 points) can secure their safety in the Absa Premier League by claiming all three points, provided Thanda (29 points) draw or lose.
However, victory for our boys coupled with any other result in Bloemfontein will leave matters undecided until the final day of the season when we host Maritzburg United and Celtic travel to arch-rivals Free State Stars.
Eriksson, who is new coach Mlungisi Ngubane‚s assistant, says that all his players have been thinking about in the build up has been securing victory.
"All we‚re going to worry about is that we need to pick up three points," he said. "We are aware that one point is not enough.
"All we can do at this point is make sure we do our very, very best to pick up three points."
Thanda‚s last game was just under two weeks ago when they were thrashed 5-2 against Ajax Cape Town and Eriksson admits that the break has been welcome by everyone.
He continued: "I think the break served us well. Everybody‚s rested and everybody‚s fresh. Now we all know it‚s do or die."
Stars come into the game with not much to play for, but a very slim chance of finishing in the top eight on the log.
Asked whether they were expecting a weakened team to be fielded by Miguel Gamondi, the Swede added: "Possibly that could be an advantage, but we‚re not counting on it. Obviously they‚re going to come here looking for a win. It would be foolish of us to assume anything else. They‚re going to come, they‚re going to put out their strongest team and they‚re going to play. All of us really need to use our enthusiasm and our desperation to our advantage and give everything for the course."
Thanda have a near full-strength squad to choose from with only James Madidilani absent through suspension.
The Tycoons, currently in 11th place, must hope several results go their way if they are to secure a place in next season‚s MTN8.
Assistant coach Cavin Johnson believes that Thanda will be a totally different proposition to the team that they face earlier this season, which was coached by Roger Palmgren and had ace striker Bernard Parker amongst the ranks.
He said: "I think Thanda are a different team from the last time we played them. They‚ve changed their coaches and sold one of their best players. So we‚ll be looking to have a good game against them tomorrow."
As for his side‚s aim in the final two games, he added:  "We want to try and finish off the season well and try to finish as high as possible. I think the best that we can get is probably 10th place. So we‚ll try our best tomorrow and may the best team win."