Mokwena urges caution amid high expectations for continental success
'We want to win the Champions League and we are going to have to work very hard for that,' says Mokwena.
Rulani Mokwena is cautious about Sundowns getting carried away in the Champions League. Picture: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images.
Mamelodi Sundowns supporters have been spoiled with a lot of success in recent years, but it seems like their head coach Rulani Mokwena has indirectly told the Masandawana faithful to tone down their expectations, especially where the Caf Champions League is concerned.
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Downs had a good start in the Champions League group stages as they beat Al-Hilal 1-0 this past weekend as they hope to win the so-called “holy grail” for just the second time ever.
But Mokwena says his team might not be good enough to win the continental crown this season.
“We want to win the Champions League and we are going to have to work very hard for that, it won’t be given to us on a silver platter.
“It might not happen this season but we are going to try. We are here for the long term and it is evident in our recruitment and the promotion of young players.
“Ours is to try and make sure that we do our best in every competition,” said Mokwena.
Sundowns’ next opponents are Cotonsport who they take on this Friday in Cameroon. After that, Downs will travel to Egypt to face rivals and record holders, Al-Ahly.
“We have already sent an advanced team to try and put more context to the logistics,” explained Mokwena.
We are very experienced in that space and we have ticked a lot of boxes,” he added, but said his team were not entertaining any talk yet of where it’s best to finish in the group.
In the past three seasons, Sundowns have finished at the summit of their group but always bombed out in the quarterfinals. Last season Bafana Ba Style succumbed to Petro Atletico while prior to that, Al-Ahly were their achilles heel.
“We have two games coming and it is very important to try and put ourselves in a good position.
“We have set objectives and we are moving towards them slowly. We have not spoken about whether we want to finish first or second but the important thing is that we try to win every game, because that is the culture of the club.
“We are making slow improvements but it is good,” said the Sundowns mentor.
