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Cape Town - Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane has explained why he doesn't want a big squad, claiming that keeping too many players can poison the dressing room atmosphere.
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In order to compensate for any depth lost by loaning out or selling players, Mosimane has said he likes to have versatile footballers in his squad.
"I've dealt with the issues of numbers. Everybody says Sundowns has a lot of players. We are less. At this point in time, we have about 24 or 25. And it's good if it's like that because you can manage it," Mosimane said, according to KickOff website.
"The challenge is to have people playing in different positions. That's why I like players who can play in more than one position. If you have 32 [players], then they become unhappy -- the camp, the mood. You don't have a remedy for that. When you have a lot of players it's not good.
"And how do you train them if you have 40 players? You'd need three pitches to achieve the physical demands. Sometimes you have to play a full game, that's 20, plus two goalkeepers. What about the others? It also means you must have more coaches."
Mosimane also explained why ideally, he does not want to rotate his squad too often.
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"When you change the team, sometimes it becomes a different team. It's not as effective as (the regular team)," he said.
"When (Lionel) Messi is on the pitch for Barcelona, they have a good chance to win. When (Cristiano) Ronaldo is on the pitch, his team has more chance to win. It's not the same, so that's the challenge."
Sundowns are set to host Togo-Port in the CAF Champions League on Friday, having beaten Kaizer Chiefs 2-1 in the inaugural Shell Helix Ultra Cup.
