Pitso Mosimane believes he is nearing the end of his search for a central defender as the void left by Dutchman Alje Schut was again evident despite Mamelodi Sundowns' 4-2 drubbing of Bidvest Wits at the weekend.

The coach, who now has to quickly switch his focus to tonight's away match to Black Aces, confirmed the Brazilians would be stepping up their pursuit of a centreback. The player will not be a local, Mosimane said.

"Let me be honest with you, I am very tired. Not because of the game, it is still too early to say that, but because of the amount of work that we have to put in to get another centre-back," he said. "We are watching a lot of games and there are a lot of names coming up and we have to scrutinise. We are running out of time, but it is OK when we are scoring four goals. I would like that every week."

Mosimane has struggled to avoid questions about bringing in a replacement for Schut, who returned to his native country following three successful seasons with the 2014 Premier League champions.

In a back-four marshalled by Ramahlwe Mphahlele, Sundowns were again shaky in defence against Wits, but were spared any blushes after converting four goals at the other end.

"Our defence is not that bad and even when players were fighting with each other I understood because it happens in the heat of the moment. That is leadership and I am happy with my captain Ramahlwe, who had a brilliant first half and cleared a ball on the goal line."

He will be looking for his men to carry the momentum into the Aces clash tonight having registered their first Premier League win of the season.

"We need to concentrate because we know going to Mpumalanga will not be easy."