Mosimane gives his players a big hand
• Sundowns coach thanks his team for clinching league title under pressured conditions
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane never doubted his team would be crowned 2017-18 Premier Soccer League (PSL) champions.
Sundowns went to a record eighth PSL title — their closest challengers are Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates with four apiece – by efficiently dispatching Ajax Cape Town 3-1 at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday.
Mosimane notched his third league title‚ all at Downs‚ to add to his two cups at the Brazilians and two more at SuperSport United‚ confirming himself as SA’s premier football manager.
Sundowns regained the 2015-16 title they conceded to Bidvest Wits last season. Downs had set a mammoth record of 71 points that season. This season they clinched the title with 59 points, an unassailable seven over second-placed Orlando Pirates (52), and can go to a maximum 62 if they beat Bloemfontein Celtic in their final game on May 12.
Mosimane said the low points total was an indication of a tightly contested league.
Mosimane paid tribute to his players for winning the PSL when they competed in both the end of the 2017 and beginning of 2018 Caf Champions League tournaments inside the domestic season.
“It was a bit difficult. It was the most awkward season for everybody. Hence the number of points accumulated‚” Mosimane said.
“It hasn’t been easy. But, to be honest, the league has never been under threat. We’ve been there all the time‚ and we are there up until now.
“Of course, it didn’t come easy. I mean‚ for the players to be playing Champions League‚ reaching the Nedbank Cup semifinals‚ playing every three days‚ no complaining.
“And when you win the league under those conditions‚ where you have two Champions Leagues overlapping with one PSL‚ you really feel that the boys have given you their best.
“And you must thank them‚ and thank their families for giving them that. Because we are in hotels five days out of seven days.
“You must thank the management‚ you must thank the board. You’ve got to thank the president of the team [Patrice Motsepe] for supporting us all the time. Without him we would not be able to keep going for five years,” he said.
“We need to thank all the supporters who have continued singing at the top of their voices. When we lose they sing. We drew against Maritzburg [United]‚ they sang; we lost against Maritzburg‚ they still sang. That’s the spirit that we want.”
Sundowns‚ the 2016 Champions League winners‚ went out in the quarterfinal stage of the 2017 competition to eventual winners Wydad Casablanca. They are through to the group stages of the 2018 competition.
Orlando Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic insisted that finishing second was nothing special for the Buccaneers.
“This is normal‚ we don’t believe that we have done anything special‚” he said after
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second place was confirmed on Saturday. “This is the standard and above that is supposed to be Pirates identity.”
Orlando Pirates still had remote hopes of becoming champions going into the penultimate round of the season, but with Sundowns beating Ajax Cape Town and Pirates losing at Cape Town City‚ the top two placings were confirmed.
“If our conversion rate in the first half of the season had been better‚ we could have gone one step further‚ but we need to say that we grew up as the season went on‚” he said.
“So‚ we shall take this as a rebuilding process‚ as a process that has seen us look for stability in the second half of the season and we have proven ourselves.
“We have won 32 points from 14 matches in the second half of the season.
“If this had also happened in the first half of the season‚ we would be speaking a different story now.”