The diminutive play-maker said that his team struggled in the first round because of complacency and overconfidence. He revealed that after winning the title, the players started to believe that they were unbeatable. "It just went to our heads. We rested on our laurels and every team in the league took advantage and punished us. Suddenly we found ourselves having to catch up just a few months after being crowned champions," Haake said.
He explained that he was especially touched when they lost to Selebi-Phikwe sides FC Satmos in December and Nico United a month later. "It was a very bad Christmas for us. We were asking ourselves a lot of questions but we could not find answers. Our critics were now saying it was a mistake that we won the league and it was as we were proving them right by losing game after game," he said. However, he is confident the Jungle Kings have recovered and the resounding win against ECCO was no fluke. "We deserved to win because we played better football than ECCO and those who had been watching our recent games will agree with me. We have been playing well recently and I expect this good form to continue because all the players are itching to help the team go up. Our spirits are high. We have suddenly started to believe in ourselves and play to our best," the stocky midfielder explained to Monitor Sport.
