Everything about Sundowns is demanding, says Kekana

Grant Kekana is perhaps one of the unsung heroes of this current Mamelodi Sundowns team under Rulani Mokwena.

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The versatile defender has been one of the most consistent performers in PSL following his move from SuperSport United to the Brazilians two seasons ago. 

Kekana’s ability to play at centre-back and full-back makes him invaluable to Mokwena who will be hoping the former AmaTuks man shakes off a knock in time for Sunday’s second leg of the African Football League final against Wydad Casablanca.

He was taken off at half time during their last match. The 31-year-old has also broken into the Bafana Bafana set-up and revealed changes he had to make to succeed at Chloorkop.

“Yes, definitely there’s been a whole lot of adjustments because everything about Sundowns is demanding,” Kekana said.

“From training they demand 100% and during the game, they demand the same because the competition is very healthy but strong as well.

“So you have to be on top of your game, you also have to do a bit of extra work as an individual besides the training that we get from the team so that you stay in shape and not fall behind.”

Kekana was part of the Bafana contingent that missed the Carling Knockout quarterfinal defeat to TS Galaxy after the last FIFA international break.

He gave praise to the character of his team that is looking to reverse the 2-1 scoreline against Wydad at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday.

“We always want to contribute to the team’s success and it hurt us that we were not able to partake in the Galaxy game,” Kekana recalls.

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“But we were able to watch, I think the game had just started when we landed in Angola from Ivory Coast. We were able to watch the rest of the game, I think from the 20th minute up until the end.

“It showed the character we have in the team after going two goals down and one man down, we forced the game into penalties. It just shows the resilience in the team, the will to win, the never-say-die attitude and the mentality we are going to need for the remainder of the season in order to achieve all that we’ve set out to achieve.”