Johannesburg – Veteran Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Surprise Moriri has called on the league strugglers to lift the Telkom Knockout title and repay the faith of club owner Patrice Motsepe.
“If you look at the way that Sundowns is putting its weight behind the team, I think Patrice Motsepe deserves something,” Moriri said ahead of Saturday's cup final against Bloemfontein Celtic in Durban. “He knows that we are working hard. He's a businessman and he knows if you put something into a business you want to see results, so we're not under pressure but we know what it means to be part of Sundowns.”
Moriri said the billionaire mining magnate had met with the team ahead of their first-round match against Tuks last month. They went on to beat the top-flight new boys 1-0 and maintained a cleansheet throughout the competition.
“We did meet with the boss. He came to us and told us he's supporting us and that we just need to keep working hard,” Moriri said. “He didn't say a lot. He just came to tell us to work and that we have his support.”
The 32-year-old playmaker believed the Brazilians could make inroads on the league contenders, with three rounds of matches left before the halfway stage of the campaign.
Sundowns, five-time league champions, were fourth last season, and after 12 games in this campaign, they were lying 15th with only two wins under their belt.
“This season we started really slowly and hopefully towards the end of the season we will be where we think we're supposed to be.”
Downs have held solid form in cup competitions this year, after going down 2-0 against SuperSport United in the Nedbank Cup final in May and reaching the semi-finals of the MTN8 in August.
“We're looking forward to working hard and getting something out of this,” Moriri said. “Considering where we started this season, being in the final is a good thing for us to motivate ourselves and give confidence to everybody. “This will go a long way in motivating everybody in the Sundowns family.” – Sapa