Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane has admitted that the off-field drama has somewhat soured Downs’ record ninth Absa Premiership title.

The Brazilians secured their crown with a professional 1-0 win over Free State Stars on Saturday, to end up two points ahead of their closest challengers Orlando Pirates.

The win over Stars meant that no matter what the outcome of the impending PSL appeal on the outcome of the Wayne Arendse case, Sundowns will retain their crown.

Speaking after the game the 54-year-old coach admitted that this league title meant more than any other due to the nature in which it was won.

‘A big game, tough game. Very emotional for me. As I said, it’s bigger than any other league titles we have won,’ Mosimane told Supersport TV.

‘Lot of issues around this title. As I said, I’m not excited for the league title but I’m happy for the people that came, for the club and for the players. It was a hard-fought one and especially for me, we created a lot of enemies. It’s not nice to win a title like this, it’s not nice.

On the final day of the season, Pirates still had a chance of leapfrogging Sundowns but this did not mean that Mosimane and his chargers worried about their game against Polokwane City.

‘No, we knew we had to score a goal in the first half. We know how to manage the game. When they put Eleazar on, I liked it because we knew what was going to happen. So, we had to overload the heart of our defence and deal with the balls coming in and Denis can catch anything that goes over them,’ he concluded.