‘No need to panic yet’, says Sundowns coach

It is not yet the time to press the panic button, says Mamelodi Sundowns co-head coach Manqoba Mngqithi.

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The Brazilians have already lost two games this season compared to three losses the whole of last season as they succumbed to SuperSport United in the Tshwane derby where they lost 2-1 this past Friday.

Mngqithi says despite the dip in form, Masandawana managed to get close to their set targets.

“It is not a stage for people to start panicking. It is too early for that. We are not far away from our goal in the first cycle. We fell off in the number of points we wanted but we still got 10 points in five matches,” said Mngqithi.

“On average we have done well in terms of the number of points that we collected. We are in the position that we are in because we have done fairly well even though we have not done the best that we could do.

“There is not much that happened to suggest that we are off track. The title is going to be difficult … it is always difficult to fight for the league.

“It looks like it is easy in the end but it is not. Who says we are entitled to win a game against SuperSport? who said we are entitled to win against TS Galaxy or Sekhukhune United,” he added.

Gavin Hunt led Matsatsantsa A Pitori to their first win over Sundowns in nine attempts since 2019 and Mngqithi suggests that their rivals have turned the corner and will continue to be a menace.

“This is the same SuperSport that is going to beat other teams and that is the interesting part. You just need to keep your eye on the prize and you take care of the process,” said Mngqithi.

He adds: “We still have 12 points to fight for in this second cycle (of five games)and it is not a train smash but it is warning signs and it is very good when these signs come early in the season so that you are not complacent and you get to keep your feet on the ground and stay humble and understand that we are not entitled to get the results all the time.”