Stellenbosch centre-back Thabo Moloisane insists they are not phased by Chippa United head coach Morgan Mammila's comments ahead of their Carling Knockout clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.

Kick-off is at 3.30pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

The competition, which replaces the Telkom Knockout in the South African footballing calendar, provides the Maroons with a new opportunity to win their first piece of silverware.

Steve Barker's side have reached two semifinals in the space of four months; they came so close to a maiden final appearance after losing to Sekhukhune United on penalties in the penultimate stage of the Nedbank Cup last season before being knocked out by Orlando Pirates on away goals in the last four of the MTN 8 in September.

Stellies went into the international break on the back of a 3-0 victory over TS Galaxy, which halted a five-match winless streak in the DStv Premiership, and Moloisane is hoping they can clear the first hurdle in Carling Knockout.

"What the opponent's coach has said about us doesn't really bother us. For us, it's just to prepare as well as we can to make sure that we progress to the last eight of this competition," the 24-year-old defender said.

Moloisane was referring to remarks made by Mammila at the draw for the quarterfinals when he claimed to be disappointed at being paired with the Cape Winelands outfit, insisting he wanted a plum tie against Mamelodi Sundowns, Pirates or Kaizer Chiefs.

"To be honest, I'm disappointed. I thought I would get Sundowns while they were still limping after losing in the [MTN8] final [to Pirates]," he said.

"If not Sundowns, I thought I would get Pirates, if not them, Chiefs. Very disappointed because playing against those three teams there in Nelson Mandela Bay, we are talking about more than 30 000 people in the stadium.

"And that's who I am. I enjoy that kind of football, but we are playing a hard-working team in Stellenbosch, hard-running and well-coached. We have made it clear that we are not an easy team to play against... whether you like it or not, you don't come to Chippa running."

The Chilli Boys have made a promising start to the campaign under Mammila in his second stint at the Gqeberha-based club.

They drew 0-0 with Moroka Swallows prior to the international break to extend their unbeaten run to three games and sit seventh in the league standings after suffering just two defeats in the opening eight rounds.

Chippa don't have a particularly good record in cup competitions, however, as they're never made it past the first round in either the Telkom Knockout or the Nedbank Cup.