Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi admits it is not easy to cope with the fixture pileup but is not complaining given every other team is in the same situation.
Sundowns lost their first game of the season following a 1-0 defeat away to Polokwane City, on Sunday when his team were below par, but the tactician is not blaming the congested fixtures even though it has been cited as one of the reasons for their struggles.
The Brazilians had won seven straight games in all competitions but struggled against Polokwane and there is no respite for Mngqithi and his men as they take on Cape Town City on Wednesday.
Sundowns coach shared his fixture pileup coping mechanism
Mngqithi says he is having to use match days as part of their preparations since there is little time to train but feels it is a problem for every team and only those who cope well will come out on top.
“Now you always have your matchday plus one which is your matchday minus two and it becomes very difficult to prepare the team which is why we are using a matchday to train the team that we are anticipating to use after so that it helps a little bit more in training days,” Mngqithi said after the match.
“But when you have travelled and you are away from home, it is a little bit difficult because now, we are here on Sunday, we are arriving tomorrow [Monday] and we have Tuesday only to play a game on Wednesday. It is a little bit tough but we cannot complain because every other team is experiencing the same.
No respite for Mngqithi and his men heading into November
“It is better when we are in this situation with everybody else, it is not like it is only Sundowns who is having back-to-back matches. Everybody is in the same boat. Let us see what is going to happen.”
Sundowns will turn their focus to the Carling Knockout quarter-final against Kaizer Chiefs after Wednesday’s encounter and there is also CAF Champions League group stage action coming up in November.
