Pitso Mosimane shares trophy with Sundowns fans (Gavin Barker/BackpagePix)
The Brazilians face Bloemfontein Celtic in the last 16 of the Telkom Knockout this Saturday at the Lucas Moripe Stadium and Mosimane says it would irk the Masandawana faithful if he were to bluntly say the league cup does not rank high on his list of priorities.
His admission that fringe players might get a run out against Siwelele could serve as an indication that Downs may not be keen to go all the way to the pinnacle.
“We can’t say we don’t prioritize the TKO, no, we will be making the biggest mistake because our supporters love travelling and they will kill you if you say that. What’s important is to try and make them happy and keep going in the tournament and the longer you go the more games and the more we travel,” said Mosimane.
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But, with the 2019 Caf Champions League or the “grand slam”, as Mosimane calls it, starting in November and the having to make up some ground in the league title defence, the Brazilians may just prefer not to put all their eggs in one basket.
“Sometimes if you have a congested fixture and you are out of the cup it frees you to concentrate on the league and the Champions League,” said Mosimane.
However, he does want to maintain the “law” of winning at least one piece of silverware a season since 2013. “We have a cup that everybody loves and we want to win the cup. It is a law at Sundowns that every year there must be a cup that we win, and hopefully this one.
“I like that we have assembled the biggest squad so that we can manage all these cups and the guys who have not had a chance to play must raise their hands and play in the cup and help us because the fixtures will be congested because of the upcoming Champions League,” Mosimane added.
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