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Mokwena: Hard to promise Kekana more Mamelodi Sundowns playing time
The skipper has been with the club for 10 years but his role was reduced last season when they emerged champions again
Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena has explained why they cannot promise captain Hlompho Kekana more playing time for the Premier Soccer League champions.
In the last campaign, Kekana made just 15 appearances for the Pretoria side but the tactician has said, even though his achievements with the club are notable, promising more minutes in the new campaign is hard because of the tempo they play with.
"At this point, we are sitting in a situation whereby Hlompho wants to play more than probably what we can guarantee," Mokwena said as was quoted by Soweto Live.
"That’s not to say we think Hlompho is not good enough, but the way we play, with the intensity that we play, and the programme that we are always facing where every three days we have to play, and the older you are, you need a little bit of time to recover.
"Hlompho is still the captain of the club, he is a proven winner and he is someone that we love and respect, but of course, the reality is that he didn’t play much last season and he was not extremely happy.
"He spoke to the media to say he was disgruntled and unhappy with the number of minutes that he got, and it becomes very difficult for us to promise even more minutes this season.
"That’s why we had to look at the Hlompho situation, but we’ve looked at it with respect and the dignity that he deserves as probably one of the most successful players that Sundowns had over the years."
Sundowns will host AmaZulu on Friday at the Lucas Moripe Stadium, and Mokwena affirmed that the Brazilians are not under any kind of pressure facing their closest challengers last season.
"I don’t think we feel any pressure. We are driven by responsibility," he added.
"A responsibility that comes with being part of a big team and representing a team that got a huge amount of investment. But the reality is, we work extremely hard, we put a lot of hard work behind the scenes and therefore with all that investment the expectation is of course success, and that’s what drives us."
The game will be played at the Lucas Moripe Stadium, with kick-off set for 17:00.
