Eric Tinkler admits that Cape Town City will need to be shrewd with their signings going forward if they are ever to rein in Mamelodi Sundowns.
The Brazilians ran away with the DStv Premiership title again this season, winning their seventh consecutive league with a massive six games to spare as City ended in fifth place.
There is a significant gulf between the two teams financially, with Tinkler explaining that the gap is growing with every campaign.
And after making a few less than successful signings this season, the Citizen’s boss is eager to make sure their recruitment is spot on for the upcoming campaign so they can try and be more competitive with Rulani Mokwena’s side.
Reflecting on the recently completed campaign, Tinkler said in the Citizen that it is hard to compete with the millions pumped into the club by owner Patrice Motsepe.
He said in the Citizen: “There have been seasons where you’ve seen Sundowns run away with the league. Yes, there’s a big difference because they’ve done it for seven years in a row now and the gap between us and them has definitely grown.
“I think that’s down to the quality they have and the power that allows that. If you look across the world, who is winning leagues? It’s only Bayer Leverkusen (in Germany) this year that in reality caused a shock and you saw that with Leicester City the other season (in England).
“But in reality, Man City has all the money in the world, Real Madrid has all the money in the world and Bayern Munich has all the money in the world and those teams end up winning the league and it’s a fact.”
Sundowns were one game from going the whole season unbeaten until City inflicted a shock 1-0 defeat on the club in the final day.
“For us to catch them, it’s going to be a massive challenge for a club like ours,” added Tinkler.
“But I think we have to be smart in terms of what we do in our recruitment. I think we made a few mistakes this season if I have to be brutally honest.”