Pitso Mosimane is correct in asserting that Mamelodi Sundowns will have it tough this season.
It's the sad reality Sundowns' notoriously impatient fans - who have not seen a coaching change for five years - should bear.
Sundowns' implosion should not surprise anyone with the slightest knowledge of football.
The club last had a pre-season in 2015, which set them up for a record-breaking championship run that also birthed the success of last year, when they clinched the CAF Champions League.
Mosimane has told Sundowns fans to brace themselves for "turbulence" ahead of a "bumpy ride".
He should have told them the ship is actually about to sink.
The chief reason for the impending implosion is that Sundowns did not actually beef up their squad in the transfer window, unlike last season when they reinforced with Thapelo Morena, Yannick Zakri and Lucky Mohomi.
This time, in Oupa Manyisa and George Lebese, they got two players already on the decline, with Mosimane hoping that a change in environment would work wonders for them.
It has not been the case, as both have looked out of their depth.
Fellow signing Thokozani Sekotlong is unproven, while injured Rivaldo Coetzee is still months away from action.
Another factor that may have a far bigger effect on general team morale is Mosimane's continued persistence with Khama Billiat when the player's heart is clearly elsewhere. He has no commitment, no drive, no energy - nothing.
Billiat has rejected a new contract offer, and he's just disinterested.
There's only one way for Mosimane to rescue the ship: rebuild the team.
It's not going to happen this season. It might take time, and this is where he will require backing from an unlikely source - the Sundowns fans.
Some of them might remember that when he took over on December 1 2012, the club had not won a trophy for six seasons.
They have secured six in Mosimane's five-year spell, including the biggest of all, the Champions League.
That they did it with almost the same squad is all the more remarkable.
The big question as Mosimane faces up to the current reality is whether the powers that be at Sundowns will allow him to explain poor results away.
Can they accept a trophyless season? Or will some within the club again plant "fans" in the terraces to sing "Pitso must go", as happened two years ago before Sundowns embarked on their record-breaking run of form?
Only time will tell.
Will Pitso be allowed to rebuild Downs?
Pitso Mosimane is correct in asserting that Mamelodi Sundowns will have it tough this season.
It's the sad reality Sundowns' notoriously impatient fans - who have not seen a coaching change for five years - should bear.
Sundowns' implosion should not surprise anyone with the slightest knowledge of football.
The club last had a pre-season in 2015, which set them up for a record-breaking championship run that also birthed the success of last year, when they clinched the CAF Champions League.
Mosimane has told Sundowns fans to brace themselves for "turbulence" ahead of a "bumpy ride".
He should have told them the ship is actually about to sink.
The chief reason for the impending implosion is that Sundowns did not actually beef up their squad in the transfer window, unlike last season when they reinforced with Thapelo Morena, Yannick Zakri and Lucky Mohomi.
This time, in Oupa Manyisa and George Lebese, they got two players already on the decline, with Mosimane hoping that a change in environment would work wonders for them.
It has not been the case, as both have looked out of their depth.
Fellow signing Thokozani Sekotlong is unproven, while injured Rivaldo Coetzee is still months away from action.
Another factor that may have a far bigger effect on general team morale is Mosimane's continued persistence with Khama Billiat when the player's heart is clearly elsewhere. He has no commitment, no drive, no energy - nothing.
Billiat has rejected a new contract offer, and he's just disinterested.
There's only one way for Mosimane to rescue the ship: rebuild the team.
It's not going to happen this season. It might take time, and this is where he will require backing from an unlikely source - the Sundowns fans.
Some of them might remember that when he took over on December 1 2012, the club had not won a trophy for six seasons.
They have secured six in Mosimane's five-year spell, including the biggest of all, the Champions League.
That they did it with almost the same squad is all the more remarkable.
The big question as Mosimane faces up to the current reality is whether the powers that be at Sundowns will allow him to explain poor results away.
Can they accept a trophyless season? Or will some within the club again plant "fans" in the terraces to sing "Pitso must go", as happened two years ago before Sundowns embarked on their record-breaking run of form?
Only time will tell.
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