Orlando Pirates skipper Lehlohonolo Seema has warned against complacency when favourites Bucs tackle struggling Bloemfontein Celtic in the semi-final of the Telkom Knockout at Durban's Chatsworth Stadium on Saturday night (kick-off 8.15pm).

Seema knows what he is talking about. He is a former Celtic captain and warns that despite their lowly league position they are still dangerous.

Said Seema; "Celtic cannot be written off. They have achieved something that Pirates have not done for a long time and that is win a trophy. They won the Supa8 in 2005 while Pirates have not won a cup for a long time."

'Bucs' won the league in 2003 but their last cup triumph was in the same competition then named the Top 8 in 2000.

Seema said that the spirit at Pirates was sky high and added: "We are playing for each other which is a big plus. I know Celtic very well and they also play as a team. Like us they also have a huge following and we can expect a capacity crowd in Durban. But we would make a grave mistake if we took Celtic lightly."

But Seema, who leads by example, said that four wins and a 0-0 draw against big spending Mamelodi Sundowns in their last five matches had boosted the team further: "The confidence is there and it shows. That was a tough draw against Sundowns. Our record shows that we are back on track."

Midfielder Benson Mhlongo who won a number of honours with Sundowns before joining the Bucs ship at the start of the season agreed with Seema but said that too much could not be written into the goalless draw against his old club.

Said Mhlongo: "We have a couple of injuries and had to shuffle the side. Also Sundowns knew we did not want more injuries ahead of the Celtic cup clash and they went in hard and we did not retaliate."

Mhlongo also said that Celtic are in a similar position to that of Pirates earlier in the season.

Explained the hard tackling defensive midfielder: "We struggled to score at the start of the season and now we have overcome that hurdle and are looking good. Celtic are the same. They are not a bad side and they are not finding the net. Nobody is giving them a hiding, so they are working to turn the corner and we know they will be using us to get their season back on track and we must guard against that."

'Bucs' coach Ruud Krol said that defender Innocent Mdledle had fractured a bone in his foot in the 4-2 league win over Thanda Royal Zulu and is out for the rest of the year.

Also missing on Saturday will be Thulasizwe Mbuyane who is having x-rays on a foot injury sustained against Sundowns while Krol is hoping that winger Dikgang Mabalane will pass a late fitness test.

"But," added Krol: "That is why we have a big squad where we can replace players when they are injured."

Krol said that he would be analysing DVDs of Celtic's recent matches during the next 48 hours. He said: "At this stage, I am in the dark about Celtic but we will be up to speed on them by Saturday. One thing I do know that in cup football the league form is thrown out the window. The fact they are battling means nothing. In the cup anything can happen and the fact that people say we are favourites means absolutely nothing. Celtic will be trying as hard as us to reach the cup final."

Celtic coach Mich D'Avray agreed: "Pirates are in top form. But we are not as bad as our league record shows. The fact we are losing by the odd goals shows we are battling to score. Apart from beating Santos 5-0 in the first round, we have only scored five goals in nine league games. But the cup has been a big boost to us and we aim to go all the way."

Midfielder Patrick Malokase who scored a hat-trick against Santos is brimming with confidence. He said: "We aim to grab any chances that come our way. Pirates are a good side but we will be giving it our best shot and badly want to get to another big cup final."

Sapa