Sundowns in crisis

Mamelodi Sundowns, one of the richest football clubs in the country, is in deep crisis.

One of the most expensively assembled squads is at the bottom of the Premier League log, following their sixth defeat in nine games on Wednesday - a 3-1 reverse against Orlando Pirates.

With only one victory so far, Sundowns have hit the lowest point in their history, not that you would get a sense of this from the coach.

Johan Neeskens is still convinced that he can turn it around.

"We've just got to go back and work harder to turn things around," was the coach's simplistic response.

Firing the coach - always a quick fix by chairman Patrice Motsepe in previous times of trouble - appears not to be an option now.

Even the fans seem to be forgiving. Recent polls on the fans' reactions have put the blame squarely on "behind the scenes guys", whoever these may be.

Previously Motsepe has been quick to fire the coach, while the underlying problems have seldom been addressed.

This time senior players - Esrom Nyandoro, Anthony Laffor and skipper Teko Modise among them - have shouldered some of the blame and tried to shield Neeskens from criticism.

The club tried to reverse the losing trend after a defeat against Platinum Stars last month. Motsepe was even drawn into the meeting, along with the coach and players. It did not seem to inspire a change of fortune.

Sundowns followed that crisis meeting with tactics similar to those which had led to their slide. Now Sundowns are probably two defeats away from being labelled relegation candidates.

Even worse, they are being regarded as a soft touch for points in the league. Even Chippa United would not fear the once-mighty Brazilians.

The same could be said of AmaTuks, who will be Sundowns' next league opponents tomorrow.

Neeskens said the players had been naïve in their approach to the game against Pirates. No doubt he will try to disabuse them of that today and tomorrow.

Insisting that he was still the right man for the job, Neeskens said after Wednesday's defeat: "It's not that we have been playing so badly. We haven't played differently from the Telkom."