CAPE TOWN – Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane has pleaded for patience from fans following their 3-3 draw with AmaZulu.
Masandawana returned to the winners’ circle on Wednesday with a hard-fought 1-0 triumph over Golden Arrows, with new recruit Lebohang Maboe grabbing the winner.
But Mosimane knows that the club supporters have high expectations and want three points from every match played, which is why he has stated once more that the “grand slam” of clinching another Caf Champions League title is the priority for the Brazilians.
“We are trying to prepare this team for the Champions League later this year,” Mosimane told the Sundowns website on Thursday.
“It’s very difficult, and that’s why I tell Sundowns’ supporters that they must be a little bit patient with us because we have a new line of four people upfront who are new (Maboe, Toni Silva, Phakamani Mahlambi and Jose Ali Meza).
“We’ll get there, slowly. We are preparing for the Champions League, but we have to use the league to prepare for the Champions League because you know what’s key for us – it’s the Champions League.
“We want to represent South Africa for a sixth year in a row because we can’t let the country down.
“National agenda is important for us. We will play the top eight again next year, just like the Nedbank Cup and the Telkom Knockout.
“So you don’t have to worry much about those ones. You must worry about the big ones, the grand slams. There are tournaments and there are grand slams. We want the grand slams.”
Mosimane gave AmaZulu credit for holding Sundowns to a draw.
“I know odds are a little bit against us. It doesn’t look that nice. But we got four points out of six (in KZN). It’s not easy to get that,” he said.
“We wanted to get maximum points, but you’ve got to respect that AmaZulu played well to be honest. They deserved the draw. We scored four goals in two games.
The Brazilians back to winning ways!
Golden Arrows 0:1 Mamelodi Sundowns
⚽️ 44' Maboe #Sundowns #AbsaPrem pic.twitter.com/oGwPQnDRi7
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) September 20, 2018
“We don’t look that convincing, but if you really look at it, out of five games we played, we kept three clean sheets. We conceded against Kaizer Chiefs and AmaZulu.
“AmaZulu dented our defensive record with the three goals they scored against us. We scored four goals and got four points from our time in Durban. I don’t think that’s bad for our supporters here.”
Sundowns’ next match is October 3 against Bloemfontein Celtic away.
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