Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi has warned his players against being overconfident when they take on Marumo Gallants in the Nedbank Cup final on Saturday at Rustenburg's Royal Bafokeng Stadium.
Masandawana have been excellent in domestic competitions and they have so far secured the Premier Soccer League and the MTN8 tropies, and this weekend they will be hoping to defeat the defending champions in another competition.
A domestic treble is on the cards for the Brazilians but the tactician insists it will not be as easy as it may seem against their underrated opponents.
"This is probably one of the most difficult matches that you ever play as a coach," Mngqithi told the media ahead of the game.
"Just this morning in our video analysis I was telling the players that the most important thing about the game we're playing against Marumo is to have the highest level of respect for the game and for the opponents.
"We're not entitled to win any match. We're playing against a very good team. I've got a lot of respect for Dance [Dan Malesela] as a coach and the football they play is very enjoyable. To be honest, though they [Marumo] may be seen as underdogs, [but] they've got a lot of players who can play for Sundowns any day."
Meanwhile, Gallants assistant coach Harris Chueu revealed his playing unit adores Sundowns' players and the best thing they want to do is defeat them on Saturday.
"What we did as a club is first we respect Sundowns to an extent that we discovered that going to play them, just like making training sessions, you have to work on the minds of the players," the tactician stated.
"We did research and we said to the players that of all the players in the league, who will you choose – from a right-back to a striker.
"90 percent of them they chose are from Sundowns. It means Sundowns players are their role models and we had to work on how to beat your role model.
"We have to work on their minds so when we face them, the minds are level. As I said, we respect them but we don’t fear them. Some people confuse respect and fear. Once you have fear you won’t compete and challenge.
"We are going to treat them with the respect they deserve."
Gallants defeated Downs in last year's semi-final en route to winning the trophy.
