Pitso Mosimane says he is settling in well at his new home Al Wahda but is under a bit of pressure as his mandate is to win the UAE Pro League.
Jingles, as Mosimane is affectionately known, joined Wahda of the United Arab Emirates from Al Ahli Saudi after a fallout with the club over contractual issues.
Speaking to the media during the Pitso Mosimane multipurpose sports court handover at Lofentse Girls High School in Orlando East, Soweto, on Tuesday, Mosimane said the pressure has mounted now that he competes in the premier division in the Middle East.
“Remember in Saudi I was in the first division and now we are in the premier league, so the quality of foreign players is way bigger,” Mosimane said.
“We have players like Allan that played for Everton [in the English Premier League], who is playing in the midfield. We have a chance to have players who played at the highest level.
“Of course, it is a bit different from where I was because now the expectations are high, we are supposed to win the league.
“The team came out third last time and we didn’t start on a good note [this season] – we lost our first league game, and you start wondering what is happening here.”
With Mosimane having a track record of not losing his first game with any of the clubs he has coached, he said it was a surprise to lose his first game but had to redeem himself by winning their derby against Thulani Serero’s former team Al Jazira.
“There is not any other way of bouncing back than to win the derby against one of the biggest teams in the UAE, Al Jazira,” he said.
“Big club, big names, big coach – Frank de Boer and there was nothing bigger than that. They have got top quality players, but we won that game.
“We played the third game with Emirates, and you will always find big games in that space. We played against [Andres] Iniesta, he still has the touches, not young but the quality remains. We won the game 3-0.”
Mosimane flew out to the UAE on Tuesday night, where he will be preparing for the UAE League Cup second leg match against Emirates after the international break.
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