Ernst Middendorp believes Pitso Mosimane remains one of the most decorated coaches in South Africa football, despite Mamelodi Sundowns defeat by Kaizer Chiefs.

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The Glamour Boys managed to claim braggings rights over Sundowns after securing a 2-0 victory at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday through a brace from Samir Nurkovic.

The victory stretched Amakhosi’s lead at the top of the Absa Premiership standings to five points, while Sundowns remain in second place with 17.

Middendorp has since praised Mosimane for what he has achieved at Sundowns over the years, despite the recent rivalry between the two coaches.

‘Let me make this clear with all this entertainment before the game, I think everybody in South Africa must understand: one of the most decorated coaches is Pitso Mosimane still. It doesn’t mean if we don’t win today, everybody should put into his skin, with his success, winning the [Caf] Champions League, going to the [Fifa Club] World Cup, it’s unbelievable, I just wanted to make it very clear,’ Middendorp told SuperSport TV post-game.

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‘And he has a fantastic team. I know they won’t stop challenging for the league, it’s still early we’re aware about it, we know exactly what to do. Good, what we’re trying to do is that the understanding of soccer is about ball possession, what you have, not done in a fantastic way today, it’s [also] about defending, attacking, with numbers. Everybody has to be part of it.

‘You can see with the front players, players at the back, everyone contributing, changes were coming [from Sundowns], with wide players like [Tebogo] Langerman, we don’t have to change, we do it as discussed before, we just have to shift in a different way and then it’s done. Good, compliment to my team and everybody who was part of the preparation. I think it was hard, it was tough but it went in our direction.’