Sundowns have not reached their peak, says Rulani

With Mamelodi Sundowns refusing to accept anything other than victory right now, co-coach Rulani Mokwena has maintained that his side are still far from where they want it to be.

Sundowns were ruthless on Sunday, when they thumped TS Galaxy 3-0 at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria with goals from Mosa Lebusa, Peter Shalulile and Thabiso Kutumela to move back on top of the table with 10 points from four matches.

Only Chippa United managed to put some breaks in those matches when they held them to a goalless draw. The Brazilians have won three matches and conceded nothing.

But Mokwena insists they have not reached their peak, which could come as a warning to their title rivals, especially Orlando Pirates, a side they meet on Saturday.

“Matchday one, we knew that we were not going to be at our best and it is still evident in the first half against Galaxy we played a little bit in patches,” Mokwena said after the game.

“The second half, we were a lot more dominant, the rhythm was a lot better and the personality of the team was a little bit more in the space that we wanted.

“We want a team that dominates and that’s what we showed a little bit also in the second half where structurally we were much better and the usage of a ball was much better.

“We want to have every pass, every scheme perfect and this is the demand we put to the team at training.

“We also want to become a team that is difficult to play against, we don’t want anyone to come to play Sundowns and think it’s a walk in the park, so from a technical and tactical perspective, we must get our preparations right.”

Mokwena also insists they won’t get carried away with the impressive start they made and that their focus is to get another good result against Pirates at Orlando Stadium on Saturday 3pm.

“Our focus is on Orlando Pirates now. We will analyse the game and try to find areas where we can improve and we are going to improve,” Mokwena said.

Fixtures

Wednesday: Arrows v AmaZulu, Sugar Ray Xulu 3pm; Maritzburg v Gallants, Harry Gwala 5pm

Friday: Swallows v Cape Town City, Dobsonville 5pm

Saturday: Pirates v Sundowns, Orlando 3pm; AmaZulu v Baroka, Kings Park 3pm; Sekhukhune v Arrows, Ellis Park 3pm; Stellenbosch v Chippa, Danie Craven 5pm; SuperSport v Maritzburg, Lucas Moripe 5pm

Sunday: Royal AM v Galaxy, 3pm; Gallants v Chiefs, Peter Mokaba 5pm