Magesi FC coach Owen da Gama admits his side must eliminate their “bad habits” to maintain consistent performances.

Dikwena tša Meetse suffered their eighth defeat in the Betway Premiership following their 2-1 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday.

The defeat leaves Magesi sitting at the foot of the league table with seven after 13 games, while Sundowns remain first with 33 points from 11 matches.

Magesi have now shifted their focus to their upcoming Nedbank Cup round of 32 clash against SuperSport United at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Tuesday.

“It’s all about teaching new things but it’s very difficult to get rid of the bad habits. You know it’s a team that conceded most of their goals sitting deep, from outside the box,” Da Gama told SuperSport TV after the game.

“So we were trying to play a mid-block and it worked perfectly first-half but for some reason or another, those habits come back again and we started to defend deep.

“I mean my voice is almost gone because we keep on saying ‘push up’. But I must say first-half was splendid performance, for me it’s a sign of good things to come. We just got to be consistent with that approach. But to get rid of the bad habits it’s very hard.

“For it was just when we started to sit deep and not putting pressure on the ball. Sundowns want you to drop and give them spaces to move, so you can’t man-mark them, you just have to mark them aerially but put pressure on the ball all the time, they don’t like that and also running at them,” the former Highlands Park coach went on.

“It’s work in progress, I’m happy with the fighting spirit they showed in the first-half but in the second-half I’m a bit disappointed we couldn’t continue on that level,” he concluded.