Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi has admitted that his side has struggled to win the MTN8 in recent years due to a host of mitigating factors as they gear up to take on Kaizer Chiefs in the competition this Sunday.

The Brazilians have dominated local football in recent year but the one trophy which has continue to elude them is the MTN8, which they have not won since 2007 when it was still called the SAA Super 8.

They will face old foes Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday at 3pm with a spot in the semi-finals up for grabs and Mngqithi is expecting a tough test after years of struggles in the competition.

“The honest truth is that in the seven years that I have been here, there are many scenarios that were presented [to explain] why we didn’t win this cup,” Mngqithi told the media through a virtual conference yesterday.

“One scenario, at some point, [was that] we had too many signings and we tried to play them in the first match, and I think we lost to Platinum Stars because the team had not gelled properly.

“Another scenario was that when we were playing the MTN8, it was the same time we were continuing in the CAF Champions League and I remember we lost to Wits in the final at some point.

“We were unfortunate on that one because we also had Zesco United in the semifinal of the Champions League away from home and we had too many issues that were making the team not to be fresh as one may like.

“When we lost to Cape Town City, I think that one we were just unfortunate because there were very serious calls that were made in Cape Town and that compromised us.

“But the truth of the matter is it is one cup that, one way or the other, we’ve always struggled to win in the past seven years that I have been here. Even coach Pitso [Mosimane] tried his best to win this cup, but for whatever reasons it has been one cup that has been tricky for us in many ways.”

Mngqithi says he doesn’t expect to be sitting back against the weekend as they look to break their MTN8 hoodo.

“We believe that the team we are playing against will come at us. The good thing about a match like this is when two big teams are playing, we don’t expect anyone to be sitting back, which will make the encounter very interesting,” he said.