Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi has discussed how they need to be critical of themselves after they won the PSL title but failed to progress in the Caf Champions League.
After a 1-1 draw in Pretoria on Saturday, the Brazilians were knocked out of the continental showpiece by Al Ahly, who progressed courtesy of a 3-1 aggregate. Mngqithi has stated self-evaluation will be critical to see what went wrong in pursuit of the title they last won in 2016 under Pitso Mosimane.
"We still do have a responsibility to see where we went wrong and be critical of ourselves. Even though everybody is speaking highly of how we dominated matches, I still challenge the players to sit back and introspect on their own numbers individually," Mngqithi told the media, as reported on IOL.
Although Mamelodi Sundowns did not advance in the Champions League, they lifted the Premier Soccer League title on Wednesday after a victory against SuperSport United at Loftus Versfeld Stadium. Mngqithi lauded those he feels were critical to their success in the domestic competition where they have been very dominant in the past four seasons.
"At Sundowns everyone works hard. I am proud of the players. We have physios, analysts, coaches, doctors who work hard. Before every game, we watch four to five matches of our opponents in action to understand each of their players," the South African coach said. "That allows us to realize what to expect structurally. I would like to thank the families of everyone working at Sundowns because they suffer the most."
"Up until this point, with three matches remaining, we’ve dominated 99 percent of our matches played except for the poor possession against Cape Town City, but we still won that one 3-0," Mngqithi said. "This was one of our objectives, and I believe we’ve dominated the entire season while the personality of our team remains important."
Mamelodi Sundowns were declared champions for the fourth straight time with three games remaining. By clinching the title in four consecutive seasons, the Pretoria club improved on the record they registered between 1997/98 to the 1999/00 seasons when they were champions on three straight occasions.