Leaders Downs won’t get carried away

Mamelodi Sundowns co-head coach Manqoba Mngqithi (right) loves the mere suggestion his side can go the whole DStv Premiership campaign without defeat, but knows all too well the remaining 25 games will be no walk in the park.

The first block of five DStv Premiership fi xtures is done and Masandawana have picked up more points than amyone else (13), with just one draw – they are also the only team to win their last three matches on the trot.

“If it were a 30km marathon, then we would have just finshed 5kms, we can’t be making a noise. We know that we are still going to come across hurdles. It is every coach and player’s wish to win every game we play, but it is always better to concentrate on each game one at a time because the moment you start having big dreams, you might falter in your step,” said Mngqithi.

“The next assignment is against Maritzburg United (on Saturday), we must give it all the attention it deserves. It is very important to keep our feet on the ground, stay humble and modest, know what we are capable of and musn’t become too over-confident. There are too many games this season and the PSL is going to be hard.”

If you saw how Downs’ attack dismantled Stellenbosch FC last time out in a 3- 0 victory, you’d be convinced that Sundowns are even in with a chance of losing fewer games than they did last season (five), but Mngqithi anticipates a much tougher campaign.

“It is very early for anyone to start thinking we can go without a defeat, but it is our goal. I look at how Baroka are playing and I look at Stellenbosch, they are very hard nuts to crack, one can’t take them for granted just because we scored three against them. You look at the game we played against AmaZulu, it wasn’t the same AmaZulu that we knew from last season.

“It is going to be a little bit hard. You look at Golden Arrows, they have been pushing and they have not lost a game yet. When we got a draw against TTM, many people wondered what was happening but they have recruited very well.”