Johannesburg - Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rhulani Mokwena is not getting carried away by their fine form, emphasising they’ll face stiff competition from Richards Bay in their league encounter on Friday.
Sundowns have been the team to beat in local football in almost a decade, having claimed an unprecedented five titles in a row.
They do not look like a team that will lose their dominance any time soon – they are top of the log with 34 points after 14 league games.
And having ended 2022 with a win over Orlando Pirates, Mokwena’s men started the new year with a bang as well, beating Swallows on Tuesday.
They are yet to concede or drop points in four matches since he took over, but could face their biggest test yet away in Umlazi.
On Friday night, the Brazilians will visit third-placed rookies Richards Bay in a top-of-the-table tie.
“You can see where they are on the log. You can see the consecutive wins. They have been a difficult team to beat,” said Mokwena of Richards Bay’s exploits.
“It’s going to be an interesting game because they have some good players. It’s going to be a tough match and we have to get ourselves ready for it.”
Downs will start their CAF Champions League group stage matches in early February, which is why they’ve had to play after every three days.
Mokwena, though, is not worried about the toll of a congested fixture list, and he lauded his subordinates Steve Komphela and Manqoba Mngqithi for their inputs.
“We trained for that. And that’s why maybe in the break, we had games in a simulated programme where we had games every two, three days,” he said.
“There’s a lot that goes behind the scenes and the support that we get from the technical team is very key. The coaches must work hard on the mentality.
“And this is the space that coaches Steve Komphela and Manqoba Mngqithi, particularly, are very experienced in as coaches, having been there before.”
In the last few games, since Mokwena took over, Sundowns have played with fluidity, with starting and non-starting players making valuable contributions.
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He credited the work put in by the players week in and week out.
“After winning eight (games) in a row, and having conceded only one goal, when everybody thinks it’s easy, that’s when it’s very difficult,” he said.
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“I cannot speak about it if I don’t mention how impressed and proud of the players I am as their coach. But they’ll know, there’ll always be corrections.”
A win for Sundowns against Richards Bay will mean that they’ll be 28 points from matching last season's title-winning 65-point tally with 45 points up for grabs.
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