Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane insists that Zambian international Kennedy Mweene will remain at the club despite not featuring regularly for the Brazilians.

The 34-year-old goalkeeper has played second fiddle to first-choice keeper Dennis Onyango and could only manage to feature 16 times across all competitions last season while keeping eight clean sheets in the process.

However, Mosimane insists that Zambian international remains an important part of his squad even if he does not feature for Masandawana every week.

‘Kennedy is very important to us and that’s why we keep holding on to him. Yes, of course, we have Denis Onyango who’s number one in Africa, he is most of the time starting, but Kennedy comes in very handy,’ Mosimane told the media.

‘Last year I can say at the end of the tournament, Kennedy won us the title at the end. Of course, Denis has been playing many games more than Kennedy, but he comes in at the right time and at a crucial time. He helps us you can see, he doesn’t have to play every week, he’s experienced and looks after his body.

‘He looks after himself, he’s forever available and he’s a leader. You can only talk about age if the reflexes are no longer there. If the guy is no longer playing, as long as he’s doing the work we don’t want to talk about age,’ he added.

Mamelodi Sundowns will renew their rivalry with SuperSport United in their first Absa Premiership game of the new season when the two sides square off at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on 3 August with kick off set for 3pm.