Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena admits that while the upcoming clash with Egyptian giants Al Ahly is a huge game, they can’t just focus on Pitso Mosimane’s charges in what is a tough Caf Champions League group.
The Brazilians opened their campaign with a 1-0 win over Hilal in Rustenburg before being held to a 0-0 draw by Merrikh at the neutral Al Salam Stadium in Cairo this past Saturday.
Meanwhile, Mosimane’s men only kicked off their campaign last weekend in a 0-0 draw away with Al Hilal after winning bronze at the Fifa Club World Cup.
Sundowns remained in Egypt following last weekend’s draw against Merrikh as to proper prepare for the match against the defending champions, with the back-to-back fixtures between the two rivals likely to settle who will finish top of Group A.
Speaking in the buildup, Mokwena admitted that while it is an important set of fixtures they can’t afford to let their focus slip.
“We’re completely aware it’s a very difficult group. We can never make that mistake of focusing all our attention on Al Ahly,” the Downs co-coach said.
“It’s a group where 12 points put you in a position to qualify as No 1. But the reality also is Al Ahly only offer you six points, and then you’ve got to fight for the other points from Al-Hilal and Al-Merrikh.
“You’ve got to give them the same respect in preparation and detail as you would Al Ahly. In fact, the other games against Merrikh and Hilal are probably more important.
“Everyone was disappointed when we only beat Al-Hilal 1-0. But when you see Al Ahly drew against Hilal, you realise how important it was to win that match.
“We cannot be sidetracked by playing the name and not the matches. We’ve got certain objectives and we know the first is to qualify from the group.
“To be in the knockout stage means we play every group match to try to win, like we did today. Before we even speak about Al Ahly and the next match we focus on the previous game, and try to see why we could not win, and then try to train and improve.
“In SA, when we were 17 points ahead and saying we were still trying to improve, people in our local media were saying we were diverting or being modest.
“But that is the reality, that we are never satisfied. Whether we win, lose or draw, we have to keep improving. That’s the work we do regardless of domestic competition or the Champions League.
“There are certain targets we set and the ambitions of this club are far too great for us to relax and be content with where we are. We want to improve and get better, and that’s far more important than the rival [Ahly] that we face.”
