Khalil Ben Youssef sets 15-match target as Durban City pressure mounts

This is after Durban City suffered a 2-1 extra-time defeat to Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 quarter-finals at Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday.

The defeat brought an early end to City's hopes of competing for the MTN8 trophy, but the coach is already looking ahead to the Betway Premiership, where the club faces a demanding schedule.

City are scheduled for two KwaZulu-Natal derbies in a row, firstly against Golden Arrows at Chatsworth Stadium on Wednesday, before taking on Richards Bay FC at the same venue on Saturday.

With the club operating under a new technical team, Ben Youssef acknowledged that the pressure on coaches is unavoidable, particularly when results fail to meet expectations.

"As a new coach, you don't open all of your luggage, you keep it ready to go, and that's a part of our job because we're always at risk," he said.

However, the former Kaizer Chiefs co-coach has made it clear that his tenure should not be judged on a handful of early results.

Ben Youssef explained that he and the club's board have already agreed on a specific period in which to evaluate the team and his performance.

"The conversation with the board was we would do a proper analysis after 15 games," he said.

"That's a mandate we agreed on and there's a certain number of points we need to achieve as well."

The coach believes the assessment should only take place once he has a complete squad at his disposal.

"There are three or more players that still need to join the team in the next two weeks and some will be registered next week," he added.

Ben Youssef feels City can only be properly judged once the new arrivals are integrated and the squad reaches the required fitness levels.

For now, however, results remain the priority as City turn their attention to Arrows and the demanding league campaign ahead.