After his side's shock 2-1 defeat to Stellenbosch FC in Saturday's Nedbank Cup quarter-final, Mamelodi Sundowns head coach, Rulani Mokwena has revealed some the factors such as that have led to the team's unconvincing performances lately.
Sundowns have won just one out of their last six matches, drawing four and losing one across all competitions.
According to Mokwena, fixture congestion doesn't give Sundowns enough time to plan for the opposition, while fatigue is also becoming a factor.
While it might be argued that Sundowns have the luxury of a big, quality squad, which means they can rotate their players to the keep their squad fresh, team synergy becomes compromised, leading to below par performances.
"As I sit here as their coach I'm more proud of them than I've ever have been because despite the pressures, despite how difficult it is, we play against every opponent that has time to prepare for us and we only have one or two days to prepare for an opponent physically," Mokwena said after the game as quoted by Times Live.
https://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/soccer/2023-04-16-our-opponents-play-a-game-a-week-mokwena-laments-after-sundowns-cup-shock/
"Our opponents only play one game a week. Of course the element of freshness comes in and you could see it in certain moments today. Tactically they have time to review and come with plans and solutions.
"You could see it with all the opposition we've played so far. But it's not for us to find excuses. There are no excuses. We have to win football matches and when we don't win we have to see why we didn't win.
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"In moments like these you'd think the opponent is better, and like in any other competitive sports, if the opponent is better you take the defeat and you move on."
Sundowns will next play against CR Belouizdad in a Caf Champions League quarter-final on Saturday 22 April at the Stade Nelson Mandela.
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