Ajax Cape Town coach Calvin Marlin is hopeful his side can overcome the pressures surrounding their Championship title charge.

The Urban Warriors let slip a seven-point gap over second-place Swallows FC since the restart of competitive league action.

Marlin's side succumbed 1-0 to their promotion rivals on Tuesday, after a defeat to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila, having initially beaten Richards Bay in their first game back.

Ajax go into their clash with the University of Pretoria on Saturday just three points clear of Swallows - with just three games left in the campaign for either side.

Speaking to TimesLIVE, the coach revealed: "I have spoken to the players to stay calm and be clear in their thinking because if you do that‚ you are able to react to challenges better.

"Maybe they are under pressure as a result of over-thinking things because when we resumed, we had a good lead at the top of the log.

"We are battling to score goals at the moment. Is it about confidence? That's the question we have posed to the players. I don't understand why they are being negative all of a sudden because they played with confidence before the break."

Marlin added: "We have showed in the past that we can score goals and we can win matches. We are three points clear at the top of the log, but we don't want a situation where someone closes in on us and we are under pressure."

- TEAMtalk media