Sundowns coach maps out plan to overcome Sekhukhune

Rulani Mokwena, like many other coaches will always say they are taking it one game at time, but in reality, Mokwena has been preparing his Mamelodi Sundowns side way in advance for the influx of fixtures this month going forward.

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Downs, together with Marumo Gallants, have already played 19 games in the DStv Premiership and the Brazilians are bracing themselves for the start of Caf Champions League group stages in February.

But before kicking off the group stages, Downs face Sekhukhune this afternoon at Loftus Versfeld where they will look to extend their unbeaten run to 14 games.

“We knew about the schedule even before going into the mini break during the World Cup. We tried to train every player in a way that makes sure that everyone is ready.

“This is the situation that we find ourselves in as a big club and we need to be ready to play almost every three days and the depth allows us to spread the responsibility,” said Mokwena.

In their last game against TS Galaxy, Mokwena made wholesale changes, and that is part of his strategy to keep his team refreshed.

“We show trust and confidence in each and every player and that is what we have to do. The only solution to a hectic schedule is freshness and rotation and making everybody feel part of the process.

“We played seven games in 24 days and it is not easy because that means there is no training, there is also not enough time. We are working a little bit harder to make sure that we improve the team,” Mokwena said.

The Masandawana mentor did his due diligence on Sekhukhune and has mapped out how he plans to navigate past Brandon Truter’s team.

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“They are a tough team and they play with inverted fullbacks. They are very similar to how Swallows played under Truter and now with different quality of players it makes it more difficult.

“They have some really good players and some of them are experienced. It is going to be a difficult game. We just have to keep our feet on the ground and work with a lot of calmness,” said the Sundowns mentor.