'Enjoy the jolly ride at the top'

Pitso Mosimane, coach of Mamelodi Sundowns, says his men will get to the Premiership summit at the right time... and stay there, warning the title pretenders to enjoy jockeying for positions while it lasts. Picture: BackpagePix

Pitso Mosimane, coach of Mamelodi Sundowns, says his men will get to the Premiership summit at the right time... and stay there, warning the title pretenders to enjoy jockeying for positions while it lasts. Picture: BackpagePix

Published Feb 23, 2017

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Johannesburg - Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane fired a warning shot at the clubs that have been swapping the No1 spot, stopping short of telling them to enjoy being at the top while it lasts.

Kaizer Chiefs, Cape Town City, Bidvest Wits and SuperSport United have all sat at the summit of the Absa Premiership while the reigning champions play catch-up. Sundowns missed a number of games en route to winning the CAF Champions League and more recently the CAF Super Cup. The Brazilians are slowly moving up the table, dispelling the myth that you can’t be successful in both the continent and the domestic league.

Their win over Platinum Stars in Rustenburg on Tuesday puts them on 29 points after 13 games, two points ahead of Mosimane’s calculations of where Downs ought to be.

“There is a nice jolly ride there at the top, up and down,” Mosimane said. “We don’t want to get involved in that (this early). Hopefully we will get there at the right time. And then we will stop the jolly rides because I don’t like to be up and down.

“The worst thing you can do is to allow Sundowns to be six points clear of you. You can’t allow us to be that far ahead (because we won’t relinquish our lead).”

Sundowns’ match against Wits on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld might not decide the league but it could see the log start to take shape - making what coach Gavin Hunt calls a “false league” to look a bit real.

“We won twice (against Wits) in the league last season,” Mosimane said in response to a question as to who is under greater pressure to win this mouth-watering tie, “so who is under pressure to win?”

The Clever Boys could argue they won the MTN8 at the expense of Sundowns earlier this season.

“They won what? I can say that I won the Super Cup. I can say that I won the Champions League. I can say that I won the league with 71 points. They (Wits) were 14 points behind us. I can mention all that if we are bragging. I can bring out the Telkom Knockout. I can go on and on. I can mention playing in the Fifa World Cup if we are bragging,” Mosimane said.

This match has transformed into something of a grudge game of late. The two coaches constantly throw jibes at each other before they mention the respect they have for one

another. Last season they pushed each other in the league race before Sundowns broke free to win it with a

record number of points (71) in the 16-team PSL-era.

“The rivalry is caused by Wits doing exceptionally well in the last three years,” Mosimane said. “They came third and second twice. They are punching really, really well. They are doing exceptionally well. They have increased their squad. The way they played against (Orlando) Pirates, you can see they are strong. The way they beat Ajax (Cape Town), that’s a strong team. They have enough ammunition. They have a good coach. You can never be lucky when it comes to being at the top. Gavin is always there. He has won the league more than I have.”

If Mosimane guides the Brazilians to the Absa Premiership crown in June, he would be equal with Hunt on three league titles - a feat the Wits coach achieved with Matsatsantsa a Pitori in three successive seasons.The Clever Boys brought him to do something similar at Milpark, but Amakhosi and the Brazilians have denied him that. This season, though, Wits have a stronger squad. A familiar foe, however, stands in their way.

The Star

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