Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena is not too worried about the heavy fixture schedule that they are faced with, saying they have planned for such a programme.
“We know about the schedule, we knew about it before we even went into the mini mid-season break and we worked a little bit hard in trying to train every player to make sure that every player is ready,” Mokwena said on the club’s website.
“This is the situation we find ourselves in, in a big club you’ve always got to be ready to play every two to three days, and the depth allows us to give opportunities confidently and trust in each and every player that’s in the team, that’s what we have to do.
“The only solution to a hectic schedule is freshness, rotation and to make everybody feel a part of the process. We continue to work, [it was] the seventh game today when others have only played three or maybe four games. We’ve played seven games in 24 days.
“It’s not easy because that means there’s no training or enough time, but we are working a little bit harder to make sure that we continue to improve the team and to improve the individual players that are within the team.”
The Brazilians are preparing to face Sekhukhune United in Pretoria on Saturday. In previous DStv Premiership encounters, Sundowns have faced Sekhukhune three times, winning two matches and drawing one.
The on-form Limpopo-based team have won all their January fixtures and will be hopeful when they travel to the capital to lock horns with Sundowns.
Mokwena said: “They are a tough team that plays with inverted full-backs. They play very similar to how Brendon Truter’s Swallows team plays, but of course with different players and different individual qualities that make it a little bit more different.
“They have some very good players, they’ve got experienced players in the team and it’s going to be a difficult game.”
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