Sundowns coach Mosimane pleads with fans to give Lebese a chance

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane is pleading with fans of the Brazilians to give midfielder George Lebese time to find his footing at the club.

The 28-year old Lebese‚ who was born in Mamelodi‚ has struggled to sparkle at Sundowns since his highly publicized move from rivals Kaizer Chiefs in August where he became Mosimane’s second biggest signing of the off-season after Oupa Manyisa.

Lebese has featured in seven league matches with a return of just one goal but he is yet to win over the fickle Sundowns fans largely due to his inconsistent performances.

“I liked his touches on the ball because the game was a little bit open to give him space.

"You could play him from the beginning but he hasn’t found the rhythm yet and that takes time.

"When we are leading 3-0‚ it is always nice to give guys who haven’t been playing a chance‚” said Mosimane after Lebese played 23 minutes in the 4-0 win over Baroka FC on Tuesday.

“I could have played Oupa (Manyisa) and others but I gave him (Lebese) and Yannick Zakri a chance to get confidence.

"The substitutions were not really about doing something but they were about giving confidence because you may need George and Zakri in the next matches.

"We have another game against a running team in Golden Arrows this weekend. I took Khama Billiat off and let Percy Tau continue because I thought he could get the third goal‚” added Mosimane.

Asked if he can put a finger on the reason Lebese has taken time to acclimitise at Sundowns‚ Mosimane said it was because of the way they play football.

“He is taking too long to acclimatise because of the way we play. He understands all the movements we do and all that but you must also understand that the three attackers we have upfront goes into the break quicker.

"We go out with Tau‚ Billiat and Vilakazi quicker and it is not the way he was used to play for nine years.

"He is playing on the side on the line and we don’t play on the line‚ you have to come inside like Themba Zwane. He is a winger but he comes inside and go forward and when we defend you know that Hlompho Kekana is going to go deeper.”

“He needs to adjust to that and that is the difference and you have to give him the chance because he does not want to lose the ball.

"At Sundowns it’s very difficult to make the bench‚ if you understand and we are giving confidence to touch the ball."