Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi was full of praises for his players following their 2-0 win against Polokwane City on Wednesday at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
Teenage sensation Kutlwano Letlhaku netted a brace that ensured that the Brazilians bagged all three points to continue applying pressure to Orlando Pirates who are currently at the helm of the log table.
Sundowns were heading to this match with a score to settle having suffered a 1-0 loss in their last encounter with the Limpopo team.
Mngqithi made nine changes to the starting line-up that demolished Kaizer Chiefs 4-0 in the Carling Knockout Cup quarterfinal match on Saturday. Only Ronwen Williams and Peter Shalulile retained their spots in the first eleven against Polokwane.
The 53-year-old coach explained the changes by expressing his confidence in his team and stressing the importance of rotating players to prevent fatigue and injuries throughout the season.
“I trust all these players that’s why I’m prepared to take a bullet when it comes to giving these players a chance to play because I believe it will help the team. We can’t have so many good players and not play them and only concentrate in one group of players and when those players are injured or tired or whatever the case might be then you’ve got a serious collapse,” said Mngqithi.
Mngqithi emphasized that he has skilled players capable of helping the club secure the league title, stating that they wouldn’t be part of the team if they weren’t up to the standard.
“The players we have at Sundowns are good enough, whoever plays at Sundowns is good enough to help the team to win the league and if he’s not good enough to help the team to win the league he should not be at Sundowns because these players we if we are hoping they must help us to win the Champions League and we are scared to play them in the league then what are we trying to do?
“I always believe when you select a group of players that you think can help you throughout the season, you must also have trust in those players and not be fixed on a particular group of players, because ultimately when you need these players and they are not at the right state of mind or they are not match-ready because they’ve not had enough game time and now I got a nice problem of players that are all capable of raising their hand,” Mngqithi concluded.
Masandawana is set to travel to Bloemfontein on Sunday for their Carling Knockout Cup semi-final clash against Marumo Gallants. Sundowns had handed Gallants a 4-1 beatdown in September during their league clash.
Written by Siphesihle Soni