We are running our own race, says unconcerned Mamelodi Sundowns coach
Defending league champions Mamelodi Sundowns are not fazed by the gap that Kaizer Chiefs have at the top of the PSL standings.
The Brazilians are 10 points behind Amakhosi after 10 league games.
Chiefs have acquired 28 points after 11 games, while Sundowns have amassed 18 points after 10 league outings.
Pitso Mosimane has been involved in numerous title races in his career as head coach of Sundowns.
Speaking with the media this past weekend at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium after succumbing to defeat against Golden Arrows, Mosimane made it clear that he is not worried about Chiefs.
“If you focus on other people you are losing the plot. You need to focus on yourself. We know how we win the league. We’ve won the league four times in the last six years. Twice, we’ve been second. So, this is not new to us. What we need to focus on is Sundowns,” Mosimane explained.
Sundowns still have a maximum of 60 points on offer in the league, so the title race is far from over.
Five points behind
“We are five points behind our programme. Our programme is how we win the league. We are five points behind. If anybody has more than five to us good luck to the person. It means they have done very well,” Mosimane said.
“You can be looking at your neighbours there and say your neighbours have a new car and you also want a new car. You got to focus on yourself. We are focusing on our process. You can talk about 10 points, but we are five points behind our programme.
“Our target is 72 points. We are running our own race.”
Chiefs haven’t won the league championship for the past four years, while Sundowns are looking for a hat-trick of titles.
“15 teams are our rivals. It is not only Kaizer Chiefs who are our rivals. Wits are our rivals. Orlando Pirates are our rivals. There’s also SuperSport United and all the other teams. Chiefs are not our direct rivals. Yes, they have the edge. They have the lead. They are winning. You can question how they win, but that’s your issue. You can stay there at the corner and try and justify, but they are winning. They are taking their chances. They are doing very well but we have to stay calm,” Mosimane said.
Mosimane is searching for his fifth league title which will make him the most successful coach in the PSL era.
“I don’t want to focus on Kaizer Chiefs. In the past six years we have run the race with all the teams. We ran the race for the first two, three times with Kaizer Chiefs,” he said.
“They won it once and we won it twice. We have run the race with Wits. They won it and lost it to us again and then we ran the race with Pirates for the past two years. We are running races every year my friend. We are happy to run races. It is OK, it is not new.
“We lose races sometimes and sometimes we win them. If we lose the race, it is OK.”
