Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi is optimistic that they can maintain their momentum on all fronts and win an unprecedented quadruple this season.
The Brazilians have already won the MTN8 title, and are in the quarterfinals of the CAF Champions League and the Nedbank Cup. They could also wrap up the league title soon.
Mngqithi admitted that they have a big chance of winning all the competitions they are in, but asked his players to remain humble. “When we start every competition, we have a desire to win it. There is no competition that we get into just for the sake of taking part in it,” Mngqithi told the media after their 3-0 victory over Al-Merrikh in their last match of the Champions League group stages at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
The victory saw Sundowns make history as they finished Group A with 16 points after five wins and a draw. No team had achieved this feat before in the Champions League.
“The truth of the matter is, when you start to focus on everything you end up not getting anything. So we need to focus on small milestones that we can always achieve in the process by making sure that we concentrate on every match that we are playing and make sure we deliver that game home. But we just have to stay more focused and not get carried away too quickly.”
The 50-year-old added that they don’t want to repeat the mistake they made last season when they were knocked out of the Champions League’s quarterfinals. “We qualified very early, even last year, for the quarterfinals of the Champions League, but we did not win it.
"We have not achieved anything. We are in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. We are in the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup. We’ve not won the league yet, so we have to concentrate on every match and try to concentrate on our processes because we have the benchmarks that we are trying to make sure that we achieve.
“The team looks interesting and we are optimistic. We can go all the way if we stay focused and pay more attention to the process and still respect the opponents.”
The coach was also full of praise for midfielder George Maluleka, who scored his first goal for Sundowns against Al-Merrikh. “We must give credit to the boy. He has worked very hard to get himself into the team. We are happy that he finally got an opportunity.”
Unprecedented quadruple in sight for Sundowns
But Mngqithi calls for calm as they win fifth group game
Image: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi is optimistic that they can maintain their momentum on all fronts and win an unprecedented quadruple this season.
The Brazilians have already won the MTN8 title, and are in the quarterfinals of the CAF Champions League and the Nedbank Cup. They could also wrap up the league title soon.
Mngqithi admitted that they have a big chance of winning all the competitions they are in, but asked his players to remain humble. “When we start every competition, we have a desire to win it. There is no competition that we get into just for the sake of taking part in it,” Mngqithi told the media after their 3-0 victory over Al-Merrikh in their last match of the Champions League group stages at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
The victory saw Sundowns make history as they finished Group A with 16 points after five wins and a draw. No team had achieved this feat before in the Champions League.
“The truth of the matter is, when you start to focus on everything you end up not getting anything. So we need to focus on small milestones that we can always achieve in the process by making sure that we concentrate on every match that we are playing and make sure we deliver that game home. But we just have to stay more focused and not get carried away too quickly.”
The 50-year-old added that they don’t want to repeat the mistake they made last season when they were knocked out of the Champions League’s quarterfinals. “We qualified very early, even last year, for the quarterfinals of the Champions League, but we did not win it.
"We have not achieved anything. We are in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. We are in the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup. We’ve not won the league yet, so we have to concentrate on every match and try to concentrate on our processes because we have the benchmarks that we are trying to make sure that we achieve.
“The team looks interesting and we are optimistic. We can go all the way if we stay focused and pay more attention to the process and still respect the opponents.”
The coach was also full of praise for midfielder George Maluleka, who scored his first goal for Sundowns against Al-Merrikh. “We must give credit to the boy. He has worked very hard to get himself into the team. We are happy that he finally got an opportunity.”
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