After Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane started his mind games saying the title was Kaizer Chiefs’ to lose, the Amakhosi boss has retorted: ‘If you want to play mind games, talk to Micho [Sredojevic] or other guys [about] what happened in the past.’

The two giants of South African football meet at the Orlando Stadium on Thursday night, with Chiefs sitting just three points ahead of Downs in the title race.

Last week Pitso Mosimane said that the league was still in Chiefs’ hands and that the clash on Thursday isn’t necessarily a title decider.

Middendorp, though, has taken a different approach as he looks to refocus his team ahead of the crunch match.

‘There’s a very clear understanding and it’s nice, if you want to play mind games, talk to Micho [Sredojevic] or other guys [about] what happened in the past,’ Middendorp told the media.

‘We have our focus to our team, we don’t have to answer what somebody is putting into the public, that’s not [necessary]. We know what we want, we have our focus and we have a very clear understanding of what is at stake, and that’s it as far as going into the game.

‘It’s not about playing a mind game before and after and in between – we have our position, we know it’s a huge game. We respect each and everybody that’s part of the club’s core values and we respect the other one.

‘We do it in the right way, with the right focus, and that’s how we deal here with it. There’s no sort of discussion just because somebody said something.’