Downs focused on winning, not records
MAMELODI Sundowns might very well become South Africa’s “Invincibles” in the Premiership after extending their unbeaten run this week, but coach Manqoba Mngqithi says they are focused on winning all their matches, not breaking records.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Brazilians thumped Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila 3-1 to ensure that they equalled Kaizer Chiefs’ record of being unbeaten in the first 19 games in a league campaign. This is a record which saw Chiefs claim the title during the 2014/15 season.
Just like Amakhosi were, the Brazilians are top of the standings after that number of matches. The Brazilians have 43 points – six ahead of second and third-placed Golden Arrows and AmaZulu, who’ve both played two games more.
“To be honest, at Sundowns we have a responsibility not to lose many matches. We work very hard in instilling that culture. But we are never focused on checking how many games we’ve won and drawn. We always focus on making sure that we win every match,” Mngqithi said.
“We even feel bad when we get a draw, be it in a friendly or a practice match. We always want to win at the end of the match.
“As for the records, that is for statisticians and the media. But as coaches, we are focused on each game as it comes.”
Sundowns have lost one game this season, back in August when they were booted out of the MTN8 by Bloemfontein Celtic. But since then, they’ve enjoyed a purple patch in the league, Nedbank Cup and CAF Champions League.
Credit should go to everyone, including the technical team, senior players and the new personnel.
Against TTM, it was Siphelele Mkhulise who stole the show. The 25-year-old steered Sundowns to a come-from-behind win, scoring his team’s second goal after Rivaldo Coetzee scored the equaliser.
Mkhulise is one of the Brazilians’ academy products but he’s not letting the star-studded squad weigh him down, ensuring that he doubles his efforts and breaks into the starting line-up week in and week out ahead of household names such as George Maluleka.
“It’s encouraging to see Mkhulise growing in leaps and bounds.
The boy works very hard. He's industrious and assists the team defensively,” Mngqithi said.
“But we’ve always complained that he’s not scoring enough. And surprisingly today I went to him and said, ‘today is your day to score’.
“When he scored, I was very excited. It is always encouraging when players such as ‘Pitso’ performs the way he is. He works hard and is a good professional.
“You must reward such players because there are not many highly-talented players who have a very clean lifestyle.”
Rewarding players with gametime based on merit, not status, is part of the ethos that has kept Sundowns going. And that’s why Mngqithi says Sibusiso Vilakazi, who marked his return from a long-term injury by scoring his team's third goal, has already jumped the pecking order.
“At Sundowns, one thing that we do is to reward good performances. And that kills the headache of being biased and playing players even when they are not performing. When Vilakazi comes in and scores, he continues. He’s already ahead in the pecking order,” he said.