‘The PSL is extremely competitive’: Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena

30 January 2023 - 12:25 By Marc Strydom
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Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena and scorer Peter Shalulile celebrate in the DStv Premiership match against Sekhukhune United at Loftus Versfeld on January 28 2023.
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena and scorer Peter Shalulile celebrate in the DStv Premiership match against Sekhukhune United at Loftus Versfeld on January 28 2023.
Image: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena insists the DStv Premiership is “extremely competitive” and says his team's domination is down to the club and its players' hard work.

Asked how he feels this season's Premiership campaign has prepared his side for next week's start of the Caf Champions League group stage, Mokwena did, however, seem to admit it would have been better to have had a closer challenger domestically.

Runaway leaders Downs have a 21-point gap — though they have played two more games (20) than their chasers — after the 10-man Brazilians strolled to league win No 14 in succession against Sekhukhune United at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

“We’ll only know once we go to the Champions League. But the PSL is extremely competitive,” Mokwena said when asked about the step up Sundowns have to make when they kick off their Champions League Group B campaign at home to Sudan's Al-Hilal on February 11.

“Sometimes people think it’s a God-given right to win games. It’s very difficult to win games here in the PSL.

“You only have to look at why others are not doing what we are doing. It’s because it’s not easy.

“That’s why I sit here and say compliments to the players and I applaud them. It’s not because I’ve got nothing else to say. It’s genuinely well-deserved praise.”

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena's press conference in full from after his team's 2-0 DStv Premiership win against Sekhuhune United.

Mokwena's comment came days after former Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates star Jabu Mahlangu last week slammed Downs in a Twitter video as “destroying South African football”, through what he called an anticompetitive signing policy. Mahlangu slammed the standard of the PSL.

Downs' coach seemed conflicted in his view, which sounded diplomatic.

He praised his players for the work they put in to attain such a level of dominance. Mokwena also admitted having a team pushing Downs — as they did in past seasons in Stuart Baxter's and Ernst Middendorp's Chiefs, Gavin Hunt's Bidvest Wits and Milutin Sredojevic's Pirates — could have been beneficial when his team stepped up to continental competition.

“Real Madrid, to go to another level, needed a Barcelona. Bayern Munich needed a Dortmund at times to push them. Man City need Liverpool.

“Without the rival going extremely intensely against you it becomes difficult psychologically to continue on an upward trajectory.

“But this group of players comes together every day, works hard on every action from videos to corrections to oppositional analysis to training where every ball counts, and every action on the pitch matters.

“We should not let it be embedded for people to perceive it as easy. It’s incredible what this group of players continues to do every day.”

Before thinking about the Champions League, Downs have Saturday's big Premiership clash against fourth-placed Pirates at Orlando Stadium (3.30pm) on Saturday and their game against promoted, second-placed upstarts Richards Bay on February 7 to get past.

“For sure Champions League is a different space, much more intensive. And we have to try to anticipate and look at the fixtures,” Mokwena said.

“But we work one game at a time. And now the focus is on recovering the players and then we have seven days to the next match. I’ll spend a bit of time watching the opposition.

“Pirates is first before we even start to think about other things.”

Sundowns are also drawn with Egypt's Al Ahly and Coton Sport of Cameroon in the Champions League's Group B.

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