Sundowns coach Mokwena fires warning shot at PSL rivals

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena insists that his team is yet to peak despite maintaining their perfect start to the season.

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It was business as usual for Sundowns who made light work of Polokwane City to record their sixth consecutive win in the DStv Premiership.

Described as ceiling raiser by Mokwena, Lucas Ribeiro once again lived up to his tag. The Brazilian scored a brace in the 2-0 over Rise and Shine at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday.

“Everyday I say that it could be more,” Mokwena said.

“We could score so many goals but we’ll take the two and keep working. Maybe the scoreline is good for us to remain humble and keep working hard.

“It’s for all the players, there’s some things for Marcelo to work on. Teboho has been good and consistent, Mshishi was good today and Lucas was good and he scored two very good goals. Lesiba was good when he came on.

“The defenders were good. Again, we give nothing away to the opposition, we gave zero chances so I’m very proud of the collective effort. A lot of good improvements on the performances and of course as a collective we can get better,” Mokwena added.

The victory against last season’s champions in the Motsepe Foundation Championship stretched Sundowns’ unbeaten run in the league to 30 games from last season.

“We train hard and the players are good professionals. They look after themselves and we prepare very hard for each game,” Mokwena said before revealing the challenging task of keeping his players focused.

“It’s difficult to keep the level of motivation but when you have a special group like this and they are good human beings too then it’s a little bit easier for the coach. The game belongs to the players and they need a lot of praise and credit for the consistency in their performances and staying motivated for games,” continued Mokwena.

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“I tell them that I enjoy watching them play and I think in that sense it’s my youthfulness because I tell them that for the 90 minutes that they are on the pitch I’d like to tell them a story that I enjoyed what I saw and not just the result.

“That’s the pressure of playing Mamelodi Sundowns, you have to play well and also win. Winning without a good performance is not good enough.”

Mokwena’s charges next take on Kaizer Chiefs in blockbuster encounter at FNB Stadium. It will be the first game of the two-legged tussle of the MTN8 semi-final.