Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane believes his team can pull the rug from underneath Amakhosi’s feet like they did last season.
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A 15-point lead atop a league as competitive as the Absa Premiership should ordinarily be considered unassailable.
But Pitso Mosimane has always been the optimistic type. So while many a PSL coach has essentially conceded the title to runaway leaders Kaizer Chiefs, the Mamelodi Sundowns coach still harbours ambitions of seeing his side retaining their title.
And yesterday, sitting next to Stuart Baxter – the Chiefs coach – Mosimane gave no less than four compelling reasons why he believes his team can pull the rug from underneath Amakhosi’s feet like they did last season.
“In the past, I’ve seen Sundowns squander a 12 points lead,” he said “Bayern (Munich, the Bundesliga giants) once had a big lead but they lost a number of matches towards the end of the season and they only won the league by a small margin. Just the other day, I saw the same Bayern coming back from recess and getting just one point out of a possible six.
“In 2001, SuperSport were second from bottom in the league but they ended up second (after he took over from Bruce Grobellaar). Last season, Sundowns won the league after being behind by 11 points. I don’t know if it is possible top catch a team with a 15-point lead, you tell me,” he said to the media gathered at the PSL offices.
Declaring that the month-long break has ensured his team have loads of energy, Mosimane said “let’s burn it”, in reference to the restart which will see his team welcome Moroka Swallows at Lucas Moripe Stadium in the main attraction of tonight’s three fixtures.
That Chiefs are unbeaten from their 18 matches, while Sundowns have lost two of their 17, does not seem to perturb Mosimane one bit. Far from it, for the former Bafana Bafana coach has always maintained the championship is never won until it is mathematically impossible for the leaders to be usurped.
Baxter agrees, despite his never having been in charge of a side enjoying as big a lead as Chiefs do being overtaken.
“I think Manchester United once had 10 points on Manchester City (who went on to win the league). And I remember a German title being decided with about 10 points. But we are aware that if you’re on top, people will want to topple you. So we’re going to have to be very careful with our mental preparation the last degree.”
The Chiefs coach, though, was quick to point to the fact that the current situation is very dissimilar to last season’s where his team gave away what many had considered an unassailable lead to finish runners-up.
“This is a very different situation. Last season, Pitso’s team had games in hand. But this has nothing to do with history. It will be about how the other teams can put us under pressure by winning their matches. Once there’s pressure brought to bear on us, the key will be for us not to crack.”
Chiefs resume their campaign with a trip to tricky Bloemfontein Celtic tomorrow and Baxter admits the match is a potential banana skin.
“We know Celtic in Bloem is one of the toughest games in the league. There’s the crowd which is good for them and the pitch is poor and they always believe they can beat anyone. But while we do know it is a very difficult game, we’ve got results there before.”
Not that dropping points will be a train smash for the man who was also previously in charge of the country’s senior national side.
“I won’t cry in my milk if we drop a few points early on and I won’t shout we have won it if we win a couple of matches early on. What I will be most concerned about will be how the team performs overall.”
As it is, the Chiefs coach is enjoying the pressure that comes with being on top.
“I prefer the pressure that comes with leading from the front. It suits me and it suits how I work.” - The Star
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