Pitso wary of Chippa United dangermen
Mark Mayambela, Lerato Manzini and Kurt Lentjies have been flagged as dangermen by Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane as he readies his side for Sunday's clash against with Chippa United in the Telkom Knockout last-16.
Pitso Mosimane during the Mamelodi Sundowns press conference at PSL Offices (Aubrey Kgakatsi /BackpagePix)
The trio have been in fine form for Chippa United under the watch of interim coach Teboho Moloi, who led the Chilli Boys to their second victory in the league when they beat Cape Town City 2-1 on Sunday afternoon.
“We need to look after Mark Mayambela, he is doing well. We need to look after Lerato Manzini, he is also good, Kurt Lentjies is a clever No 10 and Sandile Zuke is good as well. We need to look after those players, they are important for Chippa’s attack, especially Mayambela and Lentjies,” said Mosimane, whose side are still licking their wounds following three league defeats in a row in their own backyard.
READ: Sundowns’ poor form gives Pitso sleepless nights
To Masandawana’s credit, they have so far recorded a 100% winning rate on the road this campaign in domestic competition, and Mosimane wants nothing to change from that script.
“It is good to play away because we have been winning, hopefully we can bank on that. I hope we can turn things around,” he said.
Based on current form, the former Bafana Bafana mentor reckons his side are on the back foot.
“They are the favourites, they are playing at home, we are limping and the confidence is not high. It is a fact that results have not been coming in the past two games, but when results are not coming you must look at the team and be honest to yourself and ask why the results are not coming.
“Chippa will be a little bit different with Teboho, there will be less ball-retention. Teboho wants the team more in the box, Dan (Malesela, the previous Chippa coach) believes more in ball-possession. We need to give Teboho a lot of respect after his first win … their tails are up.”
“We also have to work on the confidence now because the players feel what is happening now. In the last two games, decisions were not good, but we can’t sit and worry about those decisions. We need to move on because we are still going to play a lot of games,” said Mosimane.
