The Cape Winelands club were promoted to the South African top-flight for the first time in their history ahead of the 2019/20 campaign after ending on top of the 2018/19 National First Division standings.

They ended in an impressive 10th place in their first season while narrowly avoiding relegation a year later with a 14th place finish.

The 2021/22 campaign was stellar for Stellies as they ended in fourth place, which was followed by a sixth-place finish last time around, and they are currently on course for their best placing yet, with just nine matches still to play.

On Tuesday they further cemented their place with a 1-0 win over Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium, to leave them four points clear of a chasing pack that includes Sekhukhune United, Orlando Pirates, SuperSport United and Cape Town City.

Reflecting on his side's achievements, a beaming Barker explained in the Citizen that he has a fantastic group of players that just keep defying expectations.

He said: "I can't speak highly enough of this group of players. I think it's now 19 games unbeaten, which 15 are wins and I think you can see out there with the work they put in that they deserve everything they're getting. It's six months now since we last lost a game - end of September against Sundowns.

"There's still a lot of football to be played; 27 points to play for but if you'd told me at the beginning of the season that we'd be at the position that we are in now, I'd have probably not agreed with you or believed, so sometimes it's a bit surreal for myself as well, the run that we are on."

Next up for Stellies is a home tie with an in-form Skhukhune, and Barker says his team must maintain their current levels.

"It's about focus because we've got another big game against Sekhukhune, so there's no rest. We must put in another good performance against Sekhukhune, another team who's in good form, the coach explained.

Steve Barker in awe of current Stellenbosch squad