Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane believes that they are perennial Caf Champions League challengers and are not a ‘flash in the pan’.
The Brazilians made their return to Africa’s premium cup competition in 2015 and then won it just a year later in 2016. They followed up their maiden Champions League triumph with a disappointing quarter-final exit after a penalty shoot-out with eventual champions Wydad Casablanca.
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Downs, however, currently sit in a precarious position this season after failing to win any of their opening three games but Mosimane and his chargers will be looking to get their campaign back on the right path when they face AS Togo-Port on Friday.
When asked at the pre-match media day if it is now harder to compete because they are no longer an unknown quantity, Mosimane responded ‘Ya they prepare for us.’
‘It’s a good test for the club to see if we were a flash in the pan or could we do it again.
‘When I look at the last one [2017 Champions League], Wydad won but I think we could have won it.
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‘The game against Wydad [quarter-final] we could have won it before we went to penalties. We had a big chance with [Hlompho] Kekana, then with a free-kick and then we fluffed the penalties.
‘So, when I look at it all, I don’t think we are a flash in the pan, we are in it proper,’ said the 2016 Caf coach of the year.
Mosimane also pointed out his side’s ranking on the continent as evidence of their status in the game.
‘We are being ranked proper now. We are being ranked by the games you win not by the number of games you lost.
‘It’s all about the hard work the boys have put in to get all these wins. When you win, you accumulate points and you go up and that’s why you don’t have to play preliminary’s and all that.
‘I would say its been five years now in a row and it means we are serious in South Africa about international football,’ he concluded.
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