No pressure on Lebese against Sundowns – Tembo

If SuperSport United midfielder George Lebese is given a chance to play against his parent club Mamelodi Sundowns in the upcoming Pretoria derby tomorrow night at the Loftus Versfeld, Kaitano Tembo says the 30-year-old should not put himself under any pressure to prove a point to Masandawana where he was deemed surplus to requirements.

Tembo praised Lebese for his performance in a goalless draw against Polokwane City this past weekend, and says that is the kind of performance he wants to see if he decides to give him a run again tomorrow.

“George played well for us against Polokwane and if he gets an opportunity to play it will be just normal. I would want him to play his normal game with no pressure. Maybe pressure can come from within himself. But from myself, I want him to put in a performance like he always does. That is all we need from him and that is why he is here with us,” said Tembo.

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“It is not about him trying to prove a point but it is for him to go out there and play because once you put pressure on yourself you start making mistakes and we don’t want him to do that, we want him to go there and relax and be free,” Tembo added.

Tembo was happy that the derby was postponed as it was initially scheduled for April 7 but Downs had Caf Champions Champions League commitments, which meant he would have his firing striker Mxolisi Macuphu available for selection as he served his one match suspension against Rise and Shine.

“Mxolisi has been scoring goals for us and we missed him against Polokwane because he is very lethal. It will be good that he is coming back to add more fire power up front, said Tembo as he prepares Matsatsantsa A Pitori to face their rivals who they have not beat in the league since 2013.

“We are going to take it like any other game and prepare properly because it is one game that we want to win and I know that they also want to win it. It will be a very interesting and entertaining game for both teams.”

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