Mosimane praises the ‘old guard’
Coach says his new signings will gel in gradually
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane may be content with the depth and quality that his new signings bring to the team. But the Brazilians mentor has vowed not to forget the players who were performing well before the new ones came on board.
In their 3-0 thumping of struggling Platinum Stars at the weekend, Mosimane gave his new signings Jeremy Brockie, Aubrey Ngoma and Leandro Sirino their Sundowns debuts. The trio started off on the bench, but came on in the second stanza, replacing Khama Billiat, Percy Tau and Themba Zwane.
“[The] quality is good, but it is also important for me to respect the team that has put us on [top of] the log, which is Vila [Sibusiso Vilakazi], Mshishi [Zwane] and Percy. You have to respect that because these guys have done very well for us,” said Mosimane.
“You do not just cut players because now you have other ones. It is competition and slowly they [the new ones] will come in. I was happy with the deliveries from Aubrey to find Jeremy [against Stars], that’s quality.”
Though he feels his current squad plays the best football he has ever witnessed in his fiveyear tenure at Chloorkop, Mosimane said for his current troops to be counted among the best Sundowns teams ever, they must surpass the class of 2016 that clinched the CAF Champions League.
“I have never seen a team playing so well for the five years I have been here … even that one that got 71 points [the 2015/2016 group that won the league] does not match the one we have now.
“This team is more convincing, but the one that won the Champions League is the one that is on the pedestal, until another team takes it,” noted the 2016 African Coach of the Year.
After missing Sundowns’ last seven matches, Mosimane unexpectedly reinstated Billiat to the starting line-up against Dikwena and the Zimbabwean midfielder did not disappoint, scoring two exquisite free-kicks.
However, Mosimane has reiterated that the 27-year-old’s future was not in his hands, saying “We love him. If he stays it is okay, but that’s between Khama’s agent and the board of Sundowns.”