Good news for Kaizer Chiefs? Mamelodi Sundowns' Ronwen Williams admits 'not a good space to be in now' - 'You can see the guys are still a bit down, the mood is not one of the best'

Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams has admitted the players of the Premier Soccer League side are not in a good mood following their elimination from the MTN8.

Sundowns were knocked out of the tournament by Orlando Pirates at the semi-final stage, something the Bafana goalkeeper said has affected the mood in the dressing room.

The Bafana captain also revealed that a 24-hour rule guides Sundowns: to celebrate or be sad within that time period, then focus ahead.

"Obviously, not a good space to be in now. You can see the guys are still a bit down. The mood is not one of the best. We had objectives to start the campaign on a positive note, which was to go all the way in the MTN8, but it wasn't to be. We just have to dust ourselves off and go again," Williams said, as quoted by Soccer Laduma.

"We had a nice reflection and a nice meeting to see the good and the bad moments of the past game, and to reflect and just to go forward. There are tough lessons to take out of the defeat. We are all hurting. We are all in this together," he added.

"We are feeling the effects of getting knocked out, so we just need to draw positives and just draw love and support from one another in this difficult moment. We've got a rule at the club: after 24 hours, it's either to be sad or 24 hours to celebrate. Once that has passed, it's time to focus and look forward to the next match."

Williams further admitted they are up for a difficult task because the Tshwane giants will be playing against an unbeaten Amakhosi.

"It's going to be a big one. They have started their league campaign on a positive note, so obviously, their confidence is up. But there is no need for us not to go into that game with any confidence. We haven't lost a game in open play since the season started. Yes, there's a lot of uneasiness," he said.

"You can see the team has not settled down yet, but we know that we have enough to go out there and get a result. We've done it over the last few seasons, where we've gone to FNB and got a result. We know it's going to be a different ballgame because we have the confidence, but we need to go out there and do what we have been doing."

Williams' statement reinforces the belief that the defeat to Pirates in the MTN8 semi-final damaged their confidence considerably.

What now remains is to see how they will respond and if they are in a good psychological state to fight hard and return to winning ways to avoid more regret at this early stage of the season.

The Tshwane giants will be hosted at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday for their fourth game of the league.

After facing Chiefs, their focus will shift to Stellenbosch for a game that will be played on August 30.