‘Fans need to be patient’ Mosimane predicts tough season ahead for Downs
MAMELODI Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane has warned the club’s supporters to buckle up for what he expects to be a bumpy ride. The Brazilians are still a long way from purring like the Rolls-Royce engine of old, and Mosimane expects the club to battle through turbulent waters in the coming weeks.
Sundowns missed out on the season-opening MTN8 tournament a few weeks ago and they are stuttering out of the blocks in the PSL.
They have a potential banana skin in the form of Chippa United in the last-16 round of the Telkom Knockout in East London on Sunday.
Their three league losses this season from six matches have been at home to Polokwane City‚ Kaizer Chiefs and AmaZulu‚ and Mosimane said foremost on his agenda at the moment was to find stability as they seek a return to winning ways.
“I foresee a little bit of turbulence along the way this season and Sundowns fans must be patient, they must buckle up‚” he said yesterday.
“It is going to be a tough season because we did not stabilise the team this year due to a lot of injuries.
“I have not found my proper starting 11.”
Mosimane said while they had not managed to win matches‚ he had been impressed by the way his players had played.
“But with the challenges that we are facing at the moment‚ we will always play football.
“We had 70% ball possession against Chiefs‚ we had about 75% against AmaZulu.
“We went to Rustenburg and Bethlehem and dominated, and against SuperSport United we dominated‚ there are no issues with that.”
After their 2-1 loss to AmaZulu last weekend‚ a section of the Sundowns supporters showed their dissatisfaction with the result by verbally abusing the players.
But Mosimane said he understood their agitation.
“Sundowns supporters are used to winning, and that is the only language they know. I understand that they are agitated.
“But we will come back because we have enough quality to play.”
Meanwhile, after lambasting senior players at the weekend and saying some needed a “slap”‚ Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy is now adopting a much more conciliatory tone.
City begin the defence of their Telkom Knockout title when they face Baroka FC in Polokwane on Sunday, and McCarthy seems to have adopted a calmer demeanour ahead of the eagerly awaited first round tie.
“It is a difficult task for us as a team because we are on the back of three disappointing results, and the [MTN8] final is still haunting us‚” McCarthy said. “But I’m still extremely happy with the boys.”
City won the Telkom Knockout in December in their maiden season in the PSL and came close to adding a second trophy to their honours’ board, before losing on penalties to SuperSport United in the MTN8 final almost two weeks ago. – Additional reporting by Mark Gleeson
I foresee a little bit of turbulence along the way this season