Mokwena on why his Sundowns students are given homework

At Mamelodi Sundowns, players are given tasks to review their performances after a game and report back to the coaches, while at the same time, head coaches Manqoba Mngqithi and Rulani Mokwena alongside senior coach Steve Komphela have made it a habit to review games.

And this is where Mokwena says there are a couple of improvements that the team need to make if they are to strengthen their bid to win the Caf Champions League and maintain their dominance in the local front.

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Last month, Downs booked their place in the group stages of the Champions League for a seventh time on the spin, but since winning the crown in 2016, they have failed to go beyond the semi-finals.

For them to achieve a greater feat and make only their third appearance in the final, Mokwena reckons that there are some elements of their game that need to be polished.    

The Masandawana mentor says he foresees some threats laying ahead for the Brazilians, who have shown in recent games that they can be vulnerable at the back, especially in the Champions League where they conceded two goals against Maniema Union in the group stage qualifying round.

However, Sundowns have no problems with defending in the DStv Premiership as they have kept it squeaky clean at the back with no goals conceded so far.

“It is going to be a very difficult season where we will be working hard to make sure that we keep improving. After the game you look at the footage and you say to yourself, ‘my goodness, what a good performance’,” said Mokwena.

“You watch the game and you do the corrections and you see so many mistakes in our schemes and not just individual mistakes, but structurally. We have a lot of work to do and the players understand this. They know that complacency is not an attribute at Sundowns,” the Masandawana mentor added.