Mamelodi Sundowns’ coach Pitso Mosimane is confident that the Brazilians will bounce back from a disappointing week that saw them eliminated in the Caf Champions League and the MTN8.
The Brazilians crashed out of the MTN8 semifinals at the hands of Cape Town City in penalty shoot-outs after the match ended 1-1 on aggregate. That loss came just after the club’s failure to advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. But Jingles is optimistic that his side will bounce back in their quest to retain the Absa Premiership as well as challenge for the Telkom Knockout, Nedbank Cup and the Champions League that starts later this year.
“Remember that when you lose a game, you learn some things about the club,” Mosimane said. “You learn. It also builds the team’s character and you’ve got to give it time to settle. I would rather be in this position, of playing in the group stage of the Champions League and semifinals of the of the MTN8, than not to be where I am now and then it’s for you to say that we didn’t lose in the semifinal of the MTN8″
“To be playing where we are in the Champions League you’ve got to win the league. It’s okay. As I told you the last time that we are still babies in the Champions League. You come to the MTN8 and lose in the semifinals, it’s okay. It’s not right that you lost but the team must play and it must get the stress.”
“The team must experience this situation of being in a low and you come out of it because that’s part of football. Sometimes you lose, but you learn from the mistakes. It’s better when you lose like this than say we were 2-0 up and we could have wrapped it up or we were 1-0 up and could have wrapped it up.”
“I like to go forward. The team must play, we must try and win. We are in it for the long-haul. We are still going to lose another semifinal as long as we are in football. There’s still a lot to play for. There are four competitions remaining, I am not saying that we are going to win all four but you keep going. That’s football. You aren’t going to get everything.”
The Brazilians will get a much-needed reprieve in the international break before returning to cement their place in the league. This challenge is nothing new for Sundowns. The club tends to start slow and then bounce back stronger.
“Let’s wait for the team to settle,” Mosimane said.
“Let’s wait for the combination of Ali Mezza and Toni Silva to settle. Let me incorporate Lebogang Maboe in this programme. Phakamani Mahlambi also still needs to come in. Mosa Lebusa played well against Cape Town City. I am not coaching for tomorrow, one match. I am here for the long-haul.”
