Mamelodi Sundowns legend Hlompho Kekana believes the new tactical system being implemented by the technical team will yield results.
Kekana, 37, officially retired from football this year after a decade of glittering success at Sundowns where he lifted 10 titles, including the CAF Champions League and CAF Super Cup.
He’s likely to go down as one of their greatest-ever captains for the period of sustained dominance in the DStv Premiership and as Sundowns move into a new era with new players and new systems, a slight teething period is to be expected.
The likes of Marcelo Allende, Bongani Zungu, Sipho Mbule Abubker Nassir, Terrence Mashego, Ronwen Willaims and Abdelmounaim Boutouil were added to their star-studded squad but what’s been more evident is the 4-4-2 diamond being developed, which holds much promise but hasn’t quite clicked as perhaps Rulani Mokwena and Manqoba Mngqithi would have wanted it to already at this stage.
“Ya for sure [it hasn’t], the personnel has changed, and I’m sure they will try and implement something new to make sure it suits the personnel that they brought to the team,” Kekana said at the Carling Cup media launch.
“It’s not going to be an overnight thing where it will gel by tomorrow, it will take a lot of time, games, and training sessions and I’m sure they are working on it and I’m sure they will try by all means to use this tournament to work on so many aspects of that formation.
“It’s a difficult formation for players, especially when it’s new and you find a team as Mamelodi Sundowns where every match is a cup final. But I’m sure the players are ready for the task – I’m sure they will try and implement it and win matches.”
While it may not be as free-flowing as the expectations from the Sundowns technical team, they still remain only a point behind league leaders SuperSport United, with two games in hand, in the MTN8 semi-finals and the CAF Champions League group stage.
