Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena says he is thinking about losing his job at Chloorkop and that is why he is working hard. Mokwena oversaw their CAF Champions League 2-0 aggregate defeat to Esperance of Tunisia on Friday night – he says he knows he can be fired.
Rulani said he has to prove himself worthy as Sundowns’ head coach every day that he is on the job and has to keep producing good results for Masandawana. Speaking after their loss to the Tunis-based side, Mokwena stated that because football is a game of results, he is also worried about losing his job.
Related: Sundowns To Pocket R1 Billion, Fans Gutted After CAF CL Exit
The loss meant Sundowns will have to try to win the lucrative continental title next year, saying there are so many clubs around the world that have changed coaches after failing to win the Champions League.
Mokwena Worried About Losing His Job at Sundowns
The 37-year-old Soweto-born mentor, Rulani added that he doesn’t feel his job is secure and admits that getting fired crosses his mind.
“Does losing my job cross my mind? Yes. It crosses my mind every day,” Mokwena responded at the post-match press conference. “Every day. I have to prove myself worthy to be the coach of Mamelodi Sundowns every single day. But in responding to your question, I can say to you, two things:
“One is I feel the support of the players, I feel the support of the family that runs this football club, I feel the support of senior management. And that’s important. I feel the support of the staunch Sundowns fans who realise where this club is, as compared to where this club used to be. And the difficulties that they have gone through with this club, and how much it means to them to continue to win and to be respected on the African continent.”
Sundowns Facing TS Galaxy, Rulani on the Club’s Growth
The coach also known as the student of the game, believes Masandawana have grown in terms of continental football. He reflected on the days when the Chloorkop-based side used to lose matches in the CAF Champions League, but that’s not the story anymore. Sundowns have reached the semi-finals for the second season in a row and are still chasing for their second star.
“Whereas in the past, many teams would come here and would think, ‘Oh it’s easy to play against Sundowns.’ And I remember Sundowns losing five-nil in a knockout stage of the Champions League,” added the coach.
“Gone are those days, teams don’t play against Sundowns whether home or away and play open. And this is something that shows how much we’ve grown as a team and how big we’ve become.”
Related: Who Will Clinch The Footballer Of The Year Gong?
“And I’m proud that today we could even try different things. We could go to the sides more, we could try the double underlap, we could try to put balls in the box. We could try the diagonal dodge, and we could try finding the space in the 10s, so I’m happy we could try a lot of different things today and that shows that I’m not so stuck in my ways, I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to try to help this team to win. Whether that’s recognised and appreciated is not up to me. What is up to me is to give everything that I can.”
Related: Sundowns vs Galaxy Match Preview: Wounded Downs Out to Down the Rockets